Where a hack journo plus computer hacker hack away at family secrets.

Rating: 7/10 (30 October 2010)

The Europeans excel at producing thriller movies. This, the first of a trilogy, maintains that high standard.
The story: a disgraced journalist is hired by the head of a super-rich industrialist family to find his niece, Harriet, who disappeared forty years earlier. Together with a raunchy, Gothic, young female computer hacker, the two unlikely partners in detection unravel the mystery of Harriet's disappearance and unearth a horrific family secret.
As stories go, it's on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense that gradually builds to a finale that includes a nod to Silence of the Lambs (1991) and others similar. So, yes, the plot treads well-known territory; however, it's distinctive from others you may recall, in that the young female hacker is one of the cleverest and toughest female protagonists to grace the screen since Ripley socked it to the mother of all Aliens (1986).
So, it's an ultra-violent (at times), in-your-face tour-de-force combination of introspective and analytical detection, coupled within moments of brutality that some will – for sure – find difficult to watch; in that regard, I'm reminded of the gory brutality of Eastern Promises (2007). The acting is, in my opinion, almost flawless; only some of the early scenes and clips seemed a bit stagy. Kudos, however, go to the two main stars: Michael Nyqvist as the convicted journalist, Mikael Blomqvist; and Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander – a newcomer for me, and one whom I will continue to watch as her career develops.
Cinematography, editing, and sound-track are all topnotch, as expected from well-produced and financed Swedish films. Coupled with a narrative structure and script that grab you by the throat, I had no trouble sitting through the entire 152 minutes without any fidgeting or clock watching. Overall, the pacing and the gradual revelation of the interlocking story details reminded me very much of the way the mystery unfolded in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), one of the best mystery/detective stories ever put to film (although, the book was much better).
My only (muted) criticism of the story comes to this: while I know, from personal experience, that almost unbelievable co-incidences do actually occur, there is one very necessary story co-incidence – a married couple, on honeymoon, who take and keep a crucial photograph – without which the mystery would have forever remained unsolved. You'll know it when you see it.
And see this one, I think you should, despite any misgivings you might have about reading sub-titles. It's a very visual story, and the talking is just enough. I'm eagerly looking forward to the second and third chapters. Highly recommended.