DVD Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Working in a library, I've known about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and it's two follow-up books for quite some time. I normally avoid reading series books though because I am a slow reader and don't like committing to one style of book for too long. I figured taking two and a half hours to get to know the now hugely popular series through the Swedish film adaptation would be a good taste of what the series is like. And I sit here kind of blown away.

There are two central characters in the movie - Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged wronged journalist, and Lisbeth Salander, a modern day hacker who is part Nancy Drew, part Marilyn Manson. These two are both very different but join forces to solve a disturbing string of cold case murders they stumble upon trying to unravel another mystery entirely. Not since Slumdog Millionaire have I been so incredibly impressed by the pure impeccable storytelling in a movie - this felt like I was watching something Hitchcock would put together if he were still alive.

The movie is rated R, and boy does it deserve it. There are some really disturbing graphic sexual scenes, including a rape, that make the movie almost unwatchable in spots. The scenes are meant to help explain why Lisbeth is the way she is, but boy to they drive that point home more than they needed to. Don't shy away from this movie however - the scenes can be easily skipped as you can tell when they are coming, and the rest of the movie is so good it would be a shame to pass on it when you can easily just hit the fast-forward button for five minutes out of the 152 minute movie. There are some grisly images, but they forward the crime themed story and it's nothing you wouldn't see on an episode of 24 or CSI.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the years best movies so far, and I would give it an 8.5 out of 10. Don't miss it. They are making an American version set to be released in 2012, but I cannot imagine it being as good as this.