film review: the girl who played with fire
Review by Kimberley Carey.
This second instalment from the Millennium Trilogy, which began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, sets up a mysterious crime in which investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) finds himself entangled. Although this time it’s more close to home: the victims are a young journalist and his criminologist girlfriend, who were on the verge of publishing a sex trafficking story in Millennium.
It’s also around this time that Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) returns to Sweden from abroad, checking in on her guardian and rapist Bjurman whom she is blackmailing, who also turns up dead. Lisbeth is framed for both murders, and the police begin searching for the elusive Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, launches his own investigation, further inspecting the sex trafficking ring and attempting to find Salander before the police do – while also discovering things from her past.
Nyqvist as Blomkvist presents a character that resembles the hardened but noble investigator of the hard-boiled tradition, while at the same time showing a genuine love and concern for the troubled Lisbeth. His unwavering integrity make him an advocate against sex crimes, particularly in one scene in which he informs a man that he is going to be named in the sex trafficking story. When the man asks Blomkvist, “Do you realise that publishing this story will ruin my life?” he responds with a simple, “Yes.”
Noomi Rapace is equally compelling as the title character. Although physically she is quite tiny, she seems indestructible. Her relentless and unwavering criticism and punishment of misogynistic and mostly criminally-minded men give us little room to feel sympathy for these characters, despite them being presented as more than just the black-and-white bad guys.
The second half of the movie focuses on Lisbeth’s childhood and the experiences that have defined her adult life. While interesting and skilfully revealed, as well as somewhat relevant, it leaves little room for a satisfying conclusion to the original storyline. This probably has a lot to do with the one hour cut from the original Swedish release, as a bit more time rounding out the rest of the story would have done justice to the many aspects of the plot.
Sadly, the result is a bit mismatched, but a movie that effectively makes a statement on sex crimes and abuse and its lasting effects on individuals and society. It presents ideas about sex crimes and perpetrators that are quite complex and influenced from all directions, but ultimately presents the bigger picture: that exploitation and violating basic human rights is inexcusable.
