Lisbeth Salander

Lisbeth Salander returns July 9

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Spanish poster for the Stieg Larsson trilogy

 

Noomi Rapace reprises her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl Who Played With Fire, the second part of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy.  It follows one of my personal favorite films of the year, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Lisbeth Salander is the best new crime drama character since Helen Mirren’s Inspector Jane Tennyson.  And Noomi Rapace creates a Lisbeth Salander who is a lethal mix of damage and drive.  Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth, as a tiny fury of a Goth hacker, is only 90 pounds, so she will lose a fistfight with a man; but she prevails with her smarts, resourcefulness and machine-like  relentlessness.  Lisbeth is always mad AND always gets even.

When Hollywood remakes the film, it will not cast Noomi Rapace in the lead, so you’ll miss the film’s essential performance if you wait for the American version.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo only has about one more week to go in theaters, so you should see it now.

Scandanavian poster for the first film in the Stieg Larsson trilogy

Why I'm Pushing The Girl with Dragon Tattoo

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Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander

 

This is the third straight week that I’ve been recommending The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.   I’ve gotten some initial resistance, primarily from women who have read the Stieg Larsson novel; one of those women went to the movie anyway and loved it.  Here’s why you should see it before it leaves the theaters.

First, the movie is centered on Lisbeth Salander, the best new crime drama character since Helen Mirren’s Inspector Jane Tennyson.  And Noomi Rapace creates a Lisbeth Salander who is a lethal mix of damage and drive.  Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth, as a tiny fury of a Goth hacker, is only 90 pounds, so she will lose a fistfight with a man; but she prevails with her smarts, resourcefulness and machine-like  relentlessness.  Lisbeth is always mad AND always gets even.

Second, the Scandinavians have already made all three movies for the Stieg Larsson trilogy.  They’re all in the can with the same stars.  Movie #2 is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, which has already been released in Scandinavia and is in wider European release now.  Movie #3 is The Girl Who Played With Fire, to be released in Scandinavia in September.  American Stieg Larsson fans  will be will be able to see all three movies soon, in theaters or on Netflix.

Third, Hollywood is going to remake this movie.  I doubt that Hollywood is going to remake the whole trilogy, so this may be your only chance to see the trilogy.   There are rumors about casting George Clooney or Brad Pitt, so male lead will likely be enhanced at the expense of the story.   The movie will likely be dumbed down to make Lisbeth more of a stylized action hero .  And, of course, Hollywood is not going to cast Noomi Rapace in the lead, so you would miss the film’s essential performance.