A well-cast movie.

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2012)

Now I haven't seen many Swedish movies. If I have, I can't remember them. I got out this movie from the local video store and I watched it last night. I was quite surprised how well done this movie was. I was captivated by the excellent performances by the Swedish actors, all of whom I've never seen before. Every actor was the exact portrayal of the character in the book. Henrik Vanger, Lisbeth Salander, the evil Nils Bgurman and others. At first, I wasn't convinced by Mikael Blomkvist; but as the movie moved on I gradually got to him him better and was enthralled by his performance.
I didn't know how the movie makers were going to tackle the horrific rape scene or scenes in the book. It was unsettling to watch, but it worked. I nearly had my finger on the fast-forward button but managed to get through the gritty scenes.
I've read Stieg Larsson's book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo about 6 months ago. I loved the book. I thought it would make a great movie but I wouldn't think that a Hollywood blockbuster would do it justice, as this book is obviously set in Sweden. But this movie has done that.