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Some call Lisbeth Salandar a lesbian. To others, she’s bisexual.
For me, the protagonist of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy is perhaps neither. In the first two parts of the book/film series, the tatted and pierced professional hacker witnesses her mother’s repeated sexual abuse at the hands of her father, gets sent away for lighting her lecherous dad on fire, is raped twice by a man, gets revenge by raping him in return, and has consensual sex with two women and a man — all by the age of 24.
In light of her shattered early life, it’s arguable none of her actions is consensual, however — so her sexual identity may never be revealed honestly to the audience. But perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is recently out on DVD; The Girl Who Played With Fire arrives at the Cedar Lee this Friday. I tackled nearly 5 hours of the Swedish worldwide phenomenon last weekend to bring you this review.
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Author Larsson died before any of the novels were published (or films produced), so he’s not around for any of us to ask him important questions, such as: What the hell happened between the first and second books?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a taut and slickly produced crime thriller; Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist, convicted of libel and awaiting a serious jail sentence, is called to his childhood home to make one last attempt at solving the 40-year-old mystery of a missing (and presumed murdered) teenage girl. Damaged hacker Lisbeth Salandar, hired to check up on Blomkvist, stays curious about her subject and joins his investigation — first from afar, then by his side (and in his bed).
The elements — a wealthy tycoon family, frigid rural Sweden, numerous despicable suspects, and a detective duo in peril when a serial killer gets closer and closer — are compelling and original. Blomkvist is motivated by redemption and the memories of the sweet, missing babysitter of his youth. Salandar is such a fragile and violent mess, but kept mysterious with just a few glimpses of her missing back story, that we’re left wanting more.
Unfortunately, The Girl Who Played with Fire ruins everything. The mystery — the murder of three people peripherally close to both our dynamic duo — is too complicated. Suddenly, organized crime, national intelligence and Russian spies are involved. People in jeopardy conveniently forget they’re carrying cell phones. A man who should surely be dead is alive, and heretofore unknown family members appear. And one character goes through so many episodes that should be fatal yet still survives that I wanted to scream at the screen, if only I knew one word of Swedish.
Blomkvist, as played by Michael Nyqvist, seems to be walking comatose through the second film. (Actually, Nyqvist is just not an interesting actor in either film. Thankfully, Daniel Craig will inherit the mantle in the upcoming American remake.)
At the same time, Noomi Rapace’s Salandar becomes an entirely different character than in the first outing. Her talent as a computer expert gets tossed aside as she becomes a regular gumshoe, acting in impulsive ways that make little sense. And as we learn more about her character’s past, the veil that made her so intriguing vanishes.
The Girl Who Played with Fire suffers from sequel-itis in the worst way. It forgets what made the first so successful, jettisoning a simple core mystery in favor of “shocking” twists and turns designed to top what came before. It scrambles characters in ways they become unrecognizable. And it leaves plenty of messiness that can only be resolved in the inevitable finale (to be released this fall, coincidentally).
Having just left theaters, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is definitely worth a DVD or iTunes rental. (Actually, if you hurry you can catch the final Cedar Lee screenings on Wednesday and Thursday evening.) Although it must be noted that early scenes feature so much gratuitous violence, especially toward women, as to be a turnoff.
The Girl Who Played with Fire? A big mess, and not worth too-high cinema prices.
If you check out Dragon Tattoo and you’re hungry for more, well, Played with Fire will surely be on DVD before too long.
Wait for it.
The Details
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Opens Friday, July 30, 2010
Cedar Lee Theatre (Cedar and Lee roads, Cleveland Heights)
For tickets and show times, visit www.clevelandcinemas.com.
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