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Film: The Girl who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden)
Year: 2009
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Writer: Jonas Frykberg
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist and Lena Endre
Review:
In this film, we have the events from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and it takes off from there. The young computer whiz, played by Noomi Rapace, has made off with some money from the man that her journalist friend, Michael Nyqvist, has finally gotten his revenge on. She has gone on a globe trotting trip.
We learn that her mother has died and she has inherited more money from that. She returns to Sweden and has purchased an expensive apartment for herself, while still keeping her old one.
She seeks out her female lover from the first film and offers to have her stay in her apartment. They have scene where they make love and Rapace sets down the rules, they will not do that anymore while the woman is holding on to her apartment, as Rapace seems to still wants to stay off the radar.
Rapace checks up on the sadistic guardian she had and threatens him with his own gun. The problem is, that gun turns up missing and the guardian is soon after killed.
Nyqvist hires a free-lance writer who has done research into a prostitution ring with his girlfriend, who publishes it for her Ph.D. They decide to run the story in the Millennium, the problem is, they both are killed too.
Rapace becomes the prime suspect and has to solve the case of who really did the crimes and to clear her name. Nyqvist helps her along the way, without her really knowing it, but she accepts the aid as well. Rapace will also have deal with her past to solve these crimes.
This film is not as good as the first, but it does not lag far behind. This one doesn’t have the mystery and ‘who-did-it’ feel, but this one delves more with Rapace’s character’s past. Learning more about her makes her a deeper character and you feel more for her.
With that said, you get the same amazing acting the first movie gives and a story that is just as interesting, just in a different way. This film is also being added to the horror film research like is predecessor. This one is just as dark and gritty and would be a scary situation to have to live in. Rapace doesn’t want to do what she is doing, but has to. Those around her are forcing her into it due to what happened to her previously in life. It still keeps you at the edge of your seat, hoping that she can uncover the plot and survive.
If you liked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you will like this film as well. As I stated above, it has amazing acting, a deep story and a different style of mystery that needs to be solved before Rapace is arrested or killed. It does keep you wanting more and satisfies.
My Rating: 7 out of 10