Thrilling x 3: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (Swedish version)

Facile horror and comedy franchises aside (just think "Saw") three seems to be the ideal number of instalments for extended feature film stories. Of course, author Stieg Larsson died shortly after submitting the three manuscripts that make up this series and, although all manner of reports are swirling in relation to the existence of a fourth, we're not likely to see anything develop in that direction for now.

So, on to film #3 and, after a minor slip in the second film (a matter of personal taste, really), this concluding chapter is a marvel of restraint and unfeigned intensity. After the ugly confrontation with her father that ended the previous instalment, Lisbeth Salander finds herself in hospital, having had a bullet removed from her skull, set to stand trial in connection with the murders of three people (including her abusive former guardian) and - worst of all - a few doors down from her father, whose head she attempted to cleave open with an axe.

A heady mix, to be sure and director Daniel Alfredson and new writer Ulf Ryberg walk the line between thriller and psycho-drama with surgical skill. Not ot give th ending away, and we have other matters in between, but the final denouement has just the merest shade of Francis ford Coppola's "Godfather" trilogy; multiple scenes cut together to "tie-up" the narrative, but done without confusing the viewer (even if you're watching subtitiles).

Her uneasy alliance with investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist continues, and its Blomkvist who supplies the legal help, in the form of his sister Annika (played with a disarming lightness by Annika Hallin).  Other than Blomkvist, there are precious few empathetic male characters; the Swedish Secret Police, the upper echelons of the regular police force, and a celebrity psychiatrist, peter Teleborian are all arrayed against Lisbeth. But of course, these entities and individuals all have skeletons in their respective closets, and those are largely displayed in a masterful courtroom sequence, which forms the centrepiece of the movie, with Annika an initially reluctant advocate and Salander in all her taciturn punk glory (and in the look which the producers of the Hollywood take-off adapted for star Rooney Mara).

Thankfully, the Swedish producers recognize that the end doesn't mean the clinical resolution of all issues and the series closes with its almost trademark image of the Stockholm skyline at dusk - gleaming and serene, yet darkly mysterious. whether or not  #4 is in the offing, this is really the only end that could do.

Skaal  

In Any Language(s)...A First-Rate Thriller: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo(Swedish version)

With his trilogy of thrillers selling upwards of 15 million copies in North America alone, it was inevitable that Hollywood would be sniffing around Stieg Larsson's Scandinavian suspense series. The much-hyped first instalment, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, arrives in cinemas just before Christmas, with the much-respected David Fincher (7, The Social Network) at the helm, and current 007 Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara in the lead roles, set to the music of Trent "Nine Inch Nails" Reznor. It promises much, and we'll see if it delivers.

Great suspense however, like charity, begins at home - and so the Swedes have already laid down the cinematic template for the Larrson stories, and I have to tell you, Fincher & Co. definitely have their work cut out for them, because "Men Who Hate Women" (the author's initial title) has set the bar pretty high.

The first challenge is condensing Larsson's 600 + page epic of right-wing extremism, financial highjinks and kinky sex murders into a watchable form that still carries the spirit and heft of the story. On that front, screenwriters Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg (the first in an onoging list of near unpronounceable names) succeed quite handsomely, and the film's 160 minute duration, while not a breeze, is certainly no chore.

Some credit for that also goes to director Niels Arden Opley, who weaves the story's multiple timelines (the present, them mid-60s, the WWII years and more) into a cohesive and compelling hole. The mid-60s sequences, in particular, come off like some "Nordic Vogue" or vintage LIFE magazine spread. the film's very spare score  - a marked contrast to the Hollywood blockbuster style of telegraphing every moment with sound, makes the high points seem even - well....higher.

Then, of course, there are the players, probably well known in Sweden prior to the release of these films, their stocks have surely gone up since - but none more so than Noomi Rapace. Playing the title character, computer hacker and social misfit Lisbeth Salander (you'll have to watch to see where nad how the Dragon tattoo comes in ), she's a "human geothermal" - deathly cold on the surface, with her coal-black eyes, square shoulders and punk aesthetic, and volcanic underneath, as other scenes will show. As the veteran journalist thrown together with her as they track the murder-myster-turned-serial-murder-mystery, Michael Nyquist is almost her equal.

As far as the movie itself goes, if you have an English-dubbed, or English subtitled version, then it may not be necessary to read the book first (although I still recommend it), when your choice of download is Swedish with Dutch subtitling, then a good knowledge of the source material is essential.

Either way, "Dragon Tattoo" is a smart, well-controlled but compelling thriller adaptation. The coming Hollywood adaptation is billed as "the feel-bad movie of the season". As grisly as the subject matter is, watching this version ought to leave you feeling good.

"Dragon Tattoo" movie gets 'Nine Inch Nails'

Just in time for awards season, we learn that Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor has been tapped to compose the music for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," the upcoming Hollywood adaptation of the first in Stieg Larsson's best-selling thriller series. This comes on the heels of his Golden Globe nomination for the score for the Facebook movie, "The Social Network.  


The project will reunite the rocker with not only "Social network" director David Fincher, but with his longtime songwriting partner, Atticus Ross. Speaking with the New York Times, Reznor said that the arrangements for this film would be more string-based than those for Social Network. 

"We started recording things in a different way that was all based on performance -- nothing programmed," says Reznor, who has completed two hours' worth of music over the past month with Ross. "That would be my limited skills with stringed instruments... We'd process them in a way that really gave it an interesting, organic feel that felt like something we've never done before."

The US production of "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is scheduled to open Christmas of 2011.