Smart thriller: Intelligent, truly thrilling, with a satisfying ending

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2011)

First, the ending: It's hard to end a movie. So many movies that start off like true labors of love somehow dwindle off into the sunset without a proper sense of finality; "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (TGwtDT) doesn't have this failing. That's very important.
Why do I like this flick? I think it's because the the filmmakers succeed in creating protagonists which are both larger-than-life *and* believable; a hard balancing act to pull off! You get drawn into their lives, and truly root for them. The admiration you feel for their exertions and stepwise successes is akin to how Watson felt when watching Holmes work. And yet another part of what you feel is hope and concern, which comes from the sense that they could be you. They're truly human-dimensioned, so the viewer is encouraged to settle in and identify with them.
At the end of all this drama comes the exposing of a great evil--and it's believably banal in character; a very effective move by the producers and director.
Speaking of which: Perhaps the most refreshing thing about TGwtDT is how it feels "of a piece", and not afflicted with the kinds of narrative and character development abandonment associated with mid-project cold feet on the parts of the producers. It really does appear that everyone knew what they wanted from the outset with TGwtDT, and they stuck with it to the end. And as a result the product never disappoints the good-faith expectations of intelligent viewers. They might have copped out and done a midproduction rewrite that simply posits and sews up the original issue: The 15-year-old girl's disappearance. But the filmmakers decide that actual moviegoers have enough brain cells to rub together to grok the Heisenbergian uncertainty that's thrown in to achieve a lifelike tone.
My one small remonstrance is that the voice-over work for the English dub felt about 95% there. There were occasional lapses in delivery that stuck out for me. One certainly hopes that the Swedish deliveries are 100% there! If you like mystery/thrillers, this is one you definitely have to check out.