Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) by Ashley H — 20 Jan 2015

Accept no substitutions. We won't even talk about the remake.

I actually like this even better than the book. The book is such a transparent male guilt fantasy that I found it really really tiresome. The movie does a better job of centering the plot rather than Blomkvist's feelings about how mean all those other men are to women, which means the movie does a better job of centering the movie's namesake. Seriously, the book is dead to me at this point. Give me this movie forever.

Serious trigger warning for rape here, since... y'know, the plot is sort of about the persistent and systemic brutalization of women. Just be aware. I actually found it really cathartic to watch, though. Sometimes it's good to see these things portrayed by people who know what the real thing is like. It's a way to feel seen and recognized, which isn't something women get a lot in crime movies.