Captures the tone

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2011)

Although I've read all three of the books (structurally, they're really 3 installments of one big honking novel), I haven't seen the Swedish movies. Forget about the books. Forget about the other movies. On its own, this adaptation does manage to capture the general tone and resonance of the novels, and it does this with admirable brevity and to-the-bone editing. There is a bleakness in the novels that is nicely encapsulated by the exterior and interior backgrounds. Snow. The sterility of Martin Vanger's modern house on the hill. The cool patina of years on the old cottage's walls, furniture, and stonework. The camera dwells on Lizbeth Salander's inexpressive face and you can almost hear her complex gears spinning away. The lighting director in this film is a genius -- and so is the cinematographer -- emotions are relayed in light and shadow so well, and the camera angles nudge our tensions without being overt about it. It's not perfect, of course. No movie version of a well-plotted novel ever is. But it strives to do the story justice, and manages to accomplish its task.