Synopsis:
Release Date: October 29, 2010 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Drama, Thriller
Film Review
Production
Beginning exactly where the second film ended this third installment in the Millennium trilogy fails to acknowledge the possibility of a new viewer to the series. For the returnee it will require a very good memory as to prior events, characters, and motivations. Focusing primarily on the conspiracy behind Lisbeth Salander’s (Noomi Rapace) life it is a tangled web of lies, deceit, cover-ups, murder, and an all together confusing yet interesting investigation into a secret society revolving around Lisbeth’s father. With Lisbeth confined to a hospital bed, after suffering three gun shots – and one to the head no less – the film lacks the pacing of an action thriller. It makes up for it in spades though with the psychological and political thriller it instead has become. Lisbeth remains a perplexing and exciting character while Mikael (Michael Nyqvist) is confined to a mere supporting character with his goal to set Lisbeth free by revealing the truth. His romantic side-story with Erika (Lena Endre) is an altogether waste of screen time but thankfully the time focused on it passes quickly and is easily forgotten. With Lisbeth’s trial pending she is given the opportunity to tell her story in print, through Millennium, and becomes a part of the sensationalized media in an attempt to help her gain her rights back as a citizen and be acquitted for the attempted murder of her father. The myriad of possibilities this tell-all provides are all but overlooked in the plot as it amounts to little in the end. What makes the case for Lisbeth is the unforgettable rape video, originally made in the first film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Once again making this installment an impossible film to fully comprehend or understand unless the two before have been seen by the viewer.
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest is wholly dependent on our connection with Lisbeth. Lisbeth, with her cold demeanor and emotionally charged looks, remains strong on her own. The interest in her life never waivers nor bores as outside of her confined space everything we want to know about why she has lived her life this way comes to light. Nor is she left helpless in captivity as in true Lisbeth form she communicates with the outside world and is able to make discoveries and solve mysteries with a little help from an electronic device. Even in the courtroom, she is cool and composed. Her answers beyond the intelligence level those who surround her expect, and her clear defiance for authority at an all time high as she dons a dominatrix type ensemble, gothic make-up, and a mohawk. It is the solving of this grand puzzle the Millennium trilogy has built around the unforgettable character of Lisbeth that holds the film together. The culmination of the story could not be more perfect and the growth of the character Lisbeth perfect. Her past has been revealed and rectified, making a future possible.
Chemistry
The great departure of this film in comparison to the two prior is the separation of the main characters. Lisbeth and Mikael spend practically the entire film apart from one another. The chemistry a viewer has come to expect, and love, between them is non-existent. Thus taking a large part away from what makes the overall story such a huge draw. There are the far-off looks, and of course the insistent support Mikael has for Lisbeth’s case proving his affections, but the friendship, and forbidden/impossible love affair has been cast aside in order to provide answers; leading to Lisbeth’s release from a life poisoned by atrocity. As a viewer well aware of their history you yearn for something to happen between them again. A reunion to occur that will break the coldness that has permeated the screen for well over two hours. The moment fails to occur as the final meeting between the two is awkward, sentimental, emotionally charged, but far from grand.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Daniel Alfredson
- Producer(s): Ulf Rydberg
- Screenwriter(s): Michael Nyqvist (Mikael Blomkvist)Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth Salander)Lena Endre (Erika Berger)
- Story: Annika Hallin (Annika Giannini)
- Cast: Jacob Ericksson (Christer Malm) Hakan KarlssonPeter Mokrosinski
- Editor(s):
- Cinematographer: Jacob Groth
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: SwedenGermany