The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
"Män som hatar kvinnor" (original title)

A journalist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing -- or dead -- for forty years by a young female hacker.

Director:

Niels Arden Oplev

Writers:

Nikolaj Arcel (screenplay), Rasmus Heisterberg (screenplay),

Stars:

Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 12 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Nyqvist	...	Mikael Blomkvist
Noomi Rapace	...	Lisbeth Salander
Lena Endre	...	Erika Berger
Sven-Bertil Taube	...	Henrik Vanger
Peter Haber	...	Martin Vanger
Peter Andersson	...	Nils Bjurman
Marika Lagercrantz	...	Cecilia Vanger
Ingvar Hirdwall	...	Dirch Frode
Björn Granath	...	Gustav Morell
Ewa Fröling	...	Harriet Vanger
Michalis Koutsogiannakis	...	Dragan Armanskij
Annika Hallin	...	Annika Giannini
Sofia Ledarp	...	Malin Eriksson
Tomas Köhler	...	'Plague'
David Dencik	...	Janne Dahlman

Storyline

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

---

Plot Keywords:

journalist | island | murder | hacker | computer | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent content including rape, grisly images, sexual material, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [au]

Country:

Sweden Denmark Germany Norway

Language:

Swedish English

Release Date:

27 February 2009 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Filming Locations:

Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$335,502 (USA) (19 March 2010)

Gross:

$10,095,170 (USA) (18 February 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yellow Bird Films, ZDF Enterprises, Sveriges Television (SVT)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min 180 min (extended) 186 min (Extended Version) (Part 1 & 2)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview on the BBC Breakfast programme, Noomi Rapace stated she prepared for seven months for her role. She was on a strict diet, took kick boxing lessons and had her eyebrow and nose pierced.

---

Goofs

Improperly regarded as a goof: Lisbeth is getting a barbed wire tattoo on her ankle, not her wrist. When she asks about tattoo equipment. The tattoo never shows on her wrist in following scenes.

---

Quotes

Mikael Blomkvist: Why?
Martin Vanger: Why what?
Mikael Blomkvist: All of this?
Martin Vanger: Why not? I do what every man dreams of. I take what I want.
Mikael Blomkvist: How many women after the first?
Martin Vanger: I don't know. I've lost count. I had a girl in that cage when we were dining upstairs. Those kind of women disappear all the time. No one misses them...

---

Connections

Edited into Millennium (2010)

---

Soundtracks

"Barnens Dag Marsch"
Peter Schultz

User Reviews

Great Swedish thriller

This film was very well-made with superb cinematography. The actors all portray their respective characters perfectly, although Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander, Michael Nyqvist as Michael Blomkvist and Sven-Bertil Taube as Hanrik Vanger deserve a special mentioning. They are all very likable and believable.

The films story is very exciting and puzzling (for those that haven't read the book) and the pace is steady with some really tense situations. The investigation part of the story is excellent. Although it is 2.5 hours long it is never boring.

The soundtrack was also very fitting and helped to set the mood of the film. This is far above any other Scandinavian thriller production, and I look forward to the rest of the films/series.

I recommend it to anyone!