The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo': It's indelibly great. By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo': It's indelibly great

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

     Don't wait for the American-made version coming up in a couple of years — be sure to catch the riveting Swedish production of the best-selling book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Its stylish and gritty authenticity is superbly suited to this murder mystery.

     Stieg Larsson's best-selling crime novel has all the makings of a cinematic thriller. As directed by Niels Arden Oplev in Swedish with English subtitles, Tattoo is mesmerizing.

     Already a huge hit in Europe, having opened last year overseas, it won the Swedish equivalent of the Oscar for best film and best actress. It raked in more than $100 million globally and was the top moneymaking film of 2009 in Europe and the highest-grossing film in Swedish history. It's no wonder Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin  (No County for Old Men) are planning their own adaptation.

     Tattoo is like a more Gothic Silence of the Lambs, with echoes of another serial-killer film, Seven. Its distinctively Scandinavian sensibility and ensemble cast of ordinary-looking characters make it all the more chillingly believable.

     The story centers on androgynous computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace in an indelible performance) and embattled journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) who work together to investigate the disappearance of a member of a wealthy and powerful family.

     Mikael has lost a court battle waged by a powerful corporate titan. He has a few months before he must serve a short prison sentence when he is contacted by reclusive millionaire Henrik Vanger (a subtly expressive Sven-Bertil Taube).

     Henrik adored his young niece Harriet, who vanished decades ago during a family gathering on the remote Swedish island owned by the Vanger clan.

     Henrik is sure she was murdered and believes the killer is a member of his avaricious and secretive family. He hires Mikael to investigate. Through a series of intricately plotted events, Lisbeth joins him.

     They make an unlikely duo. She's a multipierced, mentally unstable twentysomething, and he's a world-weary middle-aged has-been. But with their shared cynicism and smarts, they are ideally matched for uncovering an elaborate nefarious plot. Lisbeth is a wily cyber-whiz, and Mikael is an astute follower of leads. With their respective skills they uncover a grisly series of murders and a truly creepy dysfunctional family history.

     Some of the scenes, especially those involving graphic violence and rape, are hard to watch, and at more than 2½ hours, the movie is a long haul.

     But Rapace projects a hypnotic blend of steely toughness and vulnerability that keeps the viewer engaged. Nyqvist is superb in a less showy role.

     A stylish and suspenseful mystery thriller with unrelenting action sequences, its few flaws are surmountable.

Though the relationship between Lisbeth and Mikael isn't fully developed and a few plot coincidences feel contrived, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo artfully and intelligently fuses a punk sensibility to an epic tale.

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