The Girl Who Played With Fire
Essential for those who loved the first, but be careful with your expectations.
Niels Arden Oplev's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo brought us one of the greatest performances of the year in Noomi Rapace's Lisbeth Salander. It's fortunate that both the character and actress are so compelling, as there would be little else to make Daniel Alfredson's middle section of Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy of novels stand out.
It's vital to enter The Girl Who Played With Fire familiar with the first movie, and to be prepared for a bit of an open ending - leading into this November's The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest. For if you haven't experienced the chemistry and strange relationship between professional hacker Lisbeth and Michael Nyqvist's Mikael Blomkvist, you'll be wondering why he is so concerned for her well-being, after rekindling his long-term affair with business partner Erika. And if you are a huge fan of Mikael's almost paternal protectiveness over Lisbeth you'll be begging for just a fleeting second of them together, as they spend the majority of the film apart.
Lisbeth returns to Stockholm after a year on the run, and is comfortably managing her new investments, threatening her evil rapist case-worker Bjurman and hooking up with old flame Miriam. She is shocked and terrified when, out of the blue, she is framed for the murder of Bjurman, plus a journalist and his student girlfriend, both of whom happen to be investigating a sex trafficking ring for Mikael's Millenium magazine. Lisbeth is on the run once more, and this time, it's Mikael who must come to her aid.
Compared to the shocking and uncompromising Dragon Tattoo, Fire is a fairly pedestrian affair. However, any moment Lisbeth is onscreen is worth the admission price alone, and the bulk of the film is her discovering dark family secrets, connected to convoluted conspiracies. In the process, she cunningly beats down any brute who crosses her path, leading to a showdown which, at times, stretches credulity to breaking point. Rapace continues to inhabit one of the strongest female characters seen in years with steely conviction, even when alone and silent. There isn't another role around for women that is so completely unconventional, with Rapace always taking us on unchartered territory. In her hands, this tiny slip of a woman is always believable as someone who can fight her own battles and lead the charge, and Rapace is sure to slip precious moments of humanity into this solitary and damaged creature, toughened from years of abuse.
After the astonishingly dark onslaught that was the first film, we're now in the comfortable getting-to-know-you phase. However, where Dragon Tattoo's thriller was painstakingly detailed, causing the two and a half hours to fly by, Fire's story feels rushed with a shorter runtime. Also, do remember this and Hornets' Nest were made for Swedish television, so credit has to be given for still retaining a cinematic feel. Essential and justified for those who loved the first, but be careful with your expectations.
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