The Girl Who Played With Fire

In a week that has seen the eagerly anticipated search for the second incarnation of cyber punk anti-heroine Lisbeth Salander come to a close – with relative newcomer Rooney Mara (Youth In Revolt, the recent Nightmare On Elm Street do-over, and the soon to be released The Social Network) slated to join Bond star Daniel Craig in David Fincher’s American remake, beating a list of leading ladies rumoured to include Inception‘s Ellen Page, An Education‘s Carey Mulligan, Alice In Wonderland‘s Mia Wasikowska, and Harry Potter‘s Emma Watson, among others – we take a look at The Girl Who Played With Fire, the second installment of the original film versions of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy novels. Picking up where the events of its phenomenally successful predecessor The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo left off, it follows excellent Swedish actors Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist as they reprise their now iconic roles for another engrossing, intense, intelligent and backstory-expanding instance of crime, deception and misdirection.

Twelve months after helping Millenium magazine journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Nyqvist, As It Is in Heaven) solve the mystery of the Vanger family secret and restore his ruined reputation against libel charges, enigmatic twenty-something misanthrope Lisbeth Salander (Rapace, Daisy Diamond) returns to Sweden after a restful sojourn abroad. As Blomkvist digs deeper into a sex trafficking expose brought to him by a young freelancer and his criminologist girlfriend, Salander re-establishes her base in Stockholm, keeping tabs on enemies and reconnecting with lost friends along the way. When a brutal double murder connected to Blomkvist’s new story is linked with the mysterious and unpredictable Salander, the full might of the Swedish police force – and a homicidal blonde goliath working outside the law – start searching for the wanted woman. Battling enemies both legal and illegal, seen and unseen, past and present, Salander is caught between avenging the wrongs previously committed against her and running from the troubles currently threatening to envelope her, with Blomkvist one of her only allies in a violent and gritty race for penance, justice and survival.

Given the narrative complexity of the source material, perceptive director Daniel Alfredson (brother of Let The Right One In helmer Tomas Alfredson) does an impressive job of efficiently ensuring that The Girl Who Played With Fire remains faithful to the book – much to the joy of the millions of avid fans across the globe – whilst condensing the action to fit a two hour film. Adopting the multi-layered approach of the novel – flitting between characters, events and storylines constantly throughout – it progresses at a swift pace whilst remaining sufficiently thorough, with few pertinent details omitted to Alfredson and TV screenwriter Jonas Frykberg’s credit. However, the cost of maintaining density and intricacy comes in the form of sacrificing broad appeal, with viewers unfamiliar with the first film – or indeed the novels – likely to experience difficulties following the twists and turns, constantly intruding subplots and never-ending stream of new faces. That said, for those willing to go along for the thrilling ride The Girl Who Played With Fire does not disappoint, in a genuinely compelling story of psychological intrigue centred around one of the most interesting characters in modern literature and cinema – even if the overall package is not quite up to the standard of its forebear.

The Girl Who Played With Fire opens in Australian cinemas on September 23, 2010.

The third installment in the Millenium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, is currently scheduled for theatrical release in early 2011.

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Tags: drama, films, Millenium trilogy, movies, Stieg Larsson, sweden, The Girl Who Played With Fire, thriller