Top notch Swedish suspense film

Rating: 8/10 (25 July 2009)

As a virgin coming into this film; I was very impressed. Having heard nothing but great things said about the book, expectations were pretty high but the film delivered.
The mystery is a good one; yes, somewhat clichéd as far as the bible quotes are concerned but well written, suspenseful and always interesting. It's a nice touch how clues are always scattered about and some really insightful viewers may pick up on it.
Now the characters; Mikael Blomkvist (Nyqvist) is the disgraced journalist who, thanks to his dogged dedication in pursuit of the truth no matter what the cost, gets lured in by a wealthy man to try and solve a forty year old mystery. Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) is the emotionally scarred, tattoo filled and pierced computer hacker who eventually teams up with Blomkvist in his search for the truth. These are two interesting characters, somewhat a cliché if you want to focus on the negative but well played out; especially Lisbeth who we'll probably get to know better in subsequent films. Blomkvist somewhat takes a backseat to Lisbeth but the two complement each other very well.
Along with being a good mystery and suspense film; "Man som hatar kvinnor" is also quite the brutal film, with excessive scenes of rape, beating and utmost humiliation. While somewhat tough to watch, they don't feel out of place and do enhance the plight of one of it's main characters.
Technical credits here are also top notch. Terrific cinematography and beautiful scenery abound here, top notch music score as well. All actors come off well, particularly Rapace as Lisbeth.
If they do as well with the subsequent films in the series we're well on our way to a great Swedish trilogy of suspense films; and that's only a good thing.
Highly recommended.