The film with the brilliance of a Hitchcock or Scorsese

Rating: 9/10 (21 September 2010)

This film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's critically acclaimed novel brings together all the attributes of a classic murder mystery that is vibrant, intense and consistently intriguing.
The Swedish film, directed by Niels Arden Oplev, opens with a sentimental scene and shortly followed by the journalist's alleged law breaking.
Michael Nyqvist plays Mikael Blomkvist who is shortly asked to solve a mystery that has plagued Henrik Vanger for years, the disappearance of a family member over 40 years ago.
Keeping close tabs on Mikael's activity is 24 years old Lisbeth, a quiet yet clever individual who gets mistreated by her guardian and who soon gets wrapped up in Mikael's investigation and soon the clues are flowing and the film gets better and better.
The initial slow moving scenes help engage us into the worlds of each character and with such close detailed segments, such as Mikael's family life and Lisbeth's job and guardian changes we are immersed into worlds of deceit and corruption.
The plot boasts heavy life issues. There is a strong focus upon sexual hurt, the rape scene at the beginning is squeamish to watch and one of the eventual conclusions is equally horrible. All necessary and credit to Oplev who doesn't shy away from the pain and anguish of the film's most poignant moments. The high certificate's for this film are down to these moments of sexual indiscretion and violent themes and all fit necessarily into the film's plot.
The mystery of the missing girl pans out very well. Somehow the director is able to lay traps for you to interpret who is who and who may be a killer and what happened all those years ago and for that factor this has to be the best mystery film I have watched in sometime.
There are many factors elsewhere to enjoy. I personally loved the fact that this film had many features that in a Hollywood film would be corny but were handled with respect and a unique nature, such as the flashback scenes and the more intimate moments, all perfectly balanced and with blissfully no music to coincide with each moment.
Its hard to compare to other films but there is a feeling of a Scorsese with an excitement of a Hitchcock here, though its quite subtle and that makes this special. It isn't a copy, it isn't a wannabe Hollywood it is raw, real and ravishing.
Last year I tried to start the novel but unfortunately did not follow it through. Having watched this film and loved it I shall definitely pursue the sequel, the girl who played with fire, which has recently been adapted into a film. Given everything that took place in this film I got the impression that the books would all be powerful, exciting and intense and should anyone ask, I would suggest read the books then enjoy the film.