Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) by Paul N — 15 Dec 2012

The original, Swedish adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a magnificently acted, beautifully shot, thoroughly engrossing thriller that's wonderfully moody and dark, if at times feeling a bit over-long.

(Ironically, by watching the extended, two part version created for French television, the film doesn't feel quite so stuffed, though it still gets bogged down at points by clunky exposition.) The film has tendency to be a bit too much of a procedural, but even when it starts to feel weighted down, the performances from Nyqvist and Rapace lift it back up.

I was never able to get through the book, as I found the constant expositional infodumps distracting, but for the most part, the film does a good job of presenting all of the pertinent information without being too overwhelming.

Where the film really shines, however, is in its ability to sustain the haunting atmosphere--in the case of the extended version--over three full hours. And oh yeah, Noomi Rapace, who was just incredible.