Tantalising, engaging thriller...

Rating: 8/10 (16 April 2010)

"People always have secrets. It's just a matter of finding out what they are."
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. But the Vanger's are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.
Based on the immensely popular novel by Stieg Larsson, 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' is the first of three films based on Larsson's bestselling 'Millenium Trilogy'. At 2 hours and 32 minutes long, 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' is a tantalising, engaging crime thriller that doesn't let up until the credits roll.
The film's score can be heard before a picture is even seen on screen and sets the tone for the entire movie. What can be heard is a soundtrack that is simultaneously foreboding whilst also creating a sense of urgency. The score continues in much of the same vein for the duration of the film, in that it manages to convey dual emotions, and is uniformly excellent.
The casting of Noomi Rapace as the girl who has the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander, was a stroke of brilliance. Though her character isolates herself and is unsociable, to say the least, Rapace has created an engaging, endearing, likable, piercing character, managing to convey subtle emotions and who holds your attention from the moment she walks on screen. There are no scenes in which Rapace shies away from the task at hand and she's a standout. Michael Nyqvist, with the lesser of the two lead roles, is likable but slightly overshadowed. However, he gives a perfectly acceptable performance. Between the two lead actors there's also a to-and-fro sort of chemistry that works on several levels.
The movie's script is solid. At all times what's being said on screen is interesting and the need to fill every little moment with dialogue doesn't appear in this film. Instead, the script wisely leaves moments of silence which, when coupled with what's occurring on screen, creates a dynamic happening. The script manages to give clues without revealing too much, leaving the details of the final twist to be a shock.
Overall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an absorbing film that's well worth watching, even if you don't particularly like foreign films.