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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009 film)

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This article is about the Swedish-language film. For the English-language film based on the same novel, see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 film).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lisbeth Salander with Mikael Blomkvist
Swedish theatrical release poster
SwedishMän som hatar kvinnor
Directed byNiels Arden Oplev
Screenplay by
Based onThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson
Produced bySøren Stærmose
Starring
CinematographyEric Kress
Edited byAnne Østerud
Music byJacob Groth
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Nordisk Film (Sweden/Denmark)
  • NFP Marketing & Film Distribution (Germany)
Release dates
  • 27 February 2009 (2009-02-27) (Sweden and Denmark)
  • 1 October 2009 (2009-10-01) (Germany)
Running time
153 minutes[1]
Countries
LanguageSwedish
Budget$13 million[4]
Box office$104 million[4]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish: Män som hatar kvinnor, lit. 'Men who hate women') is a 2009 Swedish-Danish crime thriller film with German co-production directed by Niels Arden Oplev from a screenplay by Rasmus Heisterberg and Nikolaj Arcel and produced by Søren Stærmose, based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson, the first entry in his Millennium series. The film stars Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace.

That same year, two sequels, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, were released in September and November, respectively.

Plot

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In 2002, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, co-owner of the magazine Millennium, loses a high-profile libel case against billionaire Hans-Erik Wennerström, resulting in a looming prison sentence. Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but troubled hacker, is commissioned to run a background check on Blomkvist.

Henrik Vanger, the elderly patriarch of the affluent Vanger family, hires Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his niece, Harriet, who had vanished in 1966 during a family gathering. Henrik suspects foul play by his family, many of whom had Nazi connections.

Salander struggles under the control of her abusive guardian, Nils Bjurman. After enduring severe abuse. She gains the upper hand by blackmailing Bjurman, securing her financial independence and personal safety.

Blomkvist, living on the Vanger estate, discovers a list of names and numbers in Harriet's diary, linked to biblical verses. Salander, secretly accessing Blomkvist’s files, identifies the biblical references and joins Blomkvist, proposing they might relate to a series of unsolved murders connected to antisemitic motives within the Vanger family.

Their investigation leads them to suspect Martin, Harriet’s brother, who eventually captures Blomkvist. In Martin's custody, Blomkvist learns of the serial murders conducted by Martin and his late father. Salander arrives in time to rescue Blomkvist, and Martin dies in a subsequent car crash.

The duo discover that Harriet is alive in Australia, having escaped to avoid further abuse. Reunited with Henrik, she explains that she sent him annual pressed flowers as a signal that she was still alive.

The film closes as Blomkvist, aided by Salander, publishes an exposé on Wennerström, which revitalises his career and leads to Wennerström’s downfall. Salander, having secretly transferred Wennerström's funds, begins a new life under a new identity.

Cast

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Release

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Critical response

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was well received by critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a normalised score of 85% based on 192 reviews, with an average score of 7.3/10. The critical consensus is: "Its graphic violence and sprawling length will prove too much for some viewers to take, but Noomi Rapace's gripping performance makes The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo an unforgettable viewing experience."[5] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 76% based on reviews from 36 critics.[6] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four, noting that "[the film] is a compelling thriller to begin with, but it adds the rare quality of having a heroine more fascinating than the story".[7]

Box office

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The film grossed more than $10 million in the US and Canada in a limited release of 202 theatres.[4] The total gross worldwide is $104,617,430.[4][8]

Awards and nominations

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Association Category Nominee Result
Amanda Award Best Foreign Feature Film Niels Arden Oplev Nominated
BAFTA Award Best Actress in a Leading Role Noomi Rapace Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg Nominated
Best Film Not in the English Language Niels Arden Oplev Won
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Actress Noomi Rapace Nominated
Best Foreign Language Film Niels Arden Oplev Won
Empire Awards Best Thriller Won
Best Actress Noomi Rapace Won
European Film Awards Audience Award Niels Arden Oplev Nominated
Best Actress Noomi Rapace Nominated
Best Composer Jacob Groth Nominated
Guldbagge Award Audience Award Niels Arden Oplev Won
Best Actress Noomi Rapace Won
Best Film Søren Stærmose Won
Best Cinematography Eric Kress Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Sven-Bertil Taube Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society Award Best Foreign Language Film Won
Best Actress in a Leading Role Noomi Rapace Nominated
London Film Critics Circle Award Actress of the Year Noomi Rapace Nominated
New York Film Critics Online Award Breakthrough Performer Noomi Rapace Won
Palm Springs International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Niels Arden Oplev Won
Satellite Award Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Noomi Rapace Won
Best Foreign Language Film Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award Best Actress Noomi Rapace Nominated
Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award Best Foreign Language Film Nominated

TV miniseries

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Main article: Millennium (miniseries)

French premium pay television channel Canal+ aired extended versions of the three films as a miniseries between March and June 2010, before the theatrical release of the second and third films, consisting of six parts of 90 minutes each. The first part attracted 1.2 million viewers, the largest audience of a foreign series at Canal+ that year.[9] The series aired on US pay-for-view cable networks in the weeks leading up to the release of David Fincher's 2011 film adaptation of the novel.

A home video set of all six parts of the miniseries was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Music Box Home Entertainment on 6 December 2011.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Man som hatar kvinnor – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  2. ^ "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)". Swedish Film Database. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Män som hatar kvinnor (2009)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  5. ^ "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  6. ^ "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger (17 March 2010a). "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Män som hatar kvinnor en internationell kassasuccé". The Swedish Film & TV Producers (in Swedish). 4 August 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  9. ^ "The Millennium trilogy". Yellow Bird. 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
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