Leave it to the Sweeds to once again show Hollywood how movies are made. With last year's equally terrific Let the Right One In and the Norwegian zombie flick Dead Snow, there is some great moviemaking on The Nordic Peninsula. Hollywood is remaking both Let the Right One In and Dragon, but we'll have to see how right they get it. At least the remake of Dragon is being helmed by director, David Fincher, who did such work as Se7en and Fight Club. Brad Pitt is rumored to want the starring role but it appears as of the moment Daniel Craig has the part of the investigative reporter and Cary Mulligan of the upcoming Wall Street sequel is rumored to have the role of Lisbeth, the punk computer hacker.
The movie is a great murder mystery that unfolds slowly but builds to an explosive climax. Investigative reporter Mikael is being railroaded for Libel against a powerful industrialist. Demonstrating how free speech works in other countries (it doesn't. one of the few things we have over the rest of the world), Mikael faces time in prison but not for another six months. He is soon hired by a wealthy philanthropist to uncover the secret of who murdered his niece some 40 years earlier. The girl they hired, Lisbeth, to make sure Mikael was not some degenerate, soon decides to help him with the case after she uncovers evidence Mikael could not figure out. Plots within plots emerge, including a deadly serial killer who'd been offing people for decades.
The movie is not for the squeamish. Rape, murder, and gore pepper the screen but all are necessary to the plot and not tacked on for exploitative goodness. The rape of Lisbeth in the beginning by her parole officer is very twisted but utterly necessary to show how violent this little girl can become. Her hatred of men is widely seen with hints of her abusive past, especially with that of her father. Noomi Repace's portrayal of Lisbeth should have been Oscar nominated and will be the hardest role to cast. Not sure I like the idea of Carry Mulligan in this part but she's certainly a very slight girl, a feature needed for this role.
All in all this is one of the best movies I've seen all year. The twists are great, the story fascinating and hopefully, the remake will shine as well. But for now, we can all look forward to the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, with all the same actors returning. I can't wait.
4 and 1/2 stars out of five
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