SusannahTHE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST
January 22nd 2011 03:47
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Anders Ahlbom, Annika Hallin, Micke Spreitz.
Directed by: Daniel Alfredson.
Picking up directly where the previous film, The Girl Who Played With Fire, leaves off, this third and final instalment in Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, brings a fitting and satisfying conclusion to the events established in the first two films.
It opens with Lisbeth Salander in hospital, recovering from the wounds inflicted by her father, Zala, and half brother, Ronald Niedermann, at the end of the second film. Unfortunately for Salander, her father has survived as well, and when she has recovered from her injuries she will be on trial for his attempted murder. Things are complicated by the presence of a secret faction within the government, named The Section, who are bent on pinning their crimes on Salander. They had her committed when she was twelve, only this time they plan to have her committed for the rest of her life. They are targeting her because they wish to keep secret their involvement in covering up Zala’s crimes. Blomkvist is determined to prove Salander’s innocence, and will do so with a special edition of Millennium devoted to exposing this secret faction. This will also include Salander’s autobiography, written in secret in hospital, the publication of which will coincide with her court trial. Salander writes of her incarceration in a mental institution at the age of twelve (where she was stripped of her legal rights), her relationship with her father, and the rape committed by her guardian in the first film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Much of this comes to light in the very tense trial scenes. You feel so much injustice at the unfairness of Salander’s situation that you are willing the judges to see reason and find her innocent. Chiefly, your anger at the injustice of Salander’s past is directed at her psychologist, Dr. Teleborian, the man responsible for committing her in the first place. He writes a damning report of her mental state, which you know to be a fabrication, in order to have her committed again. But he is merely one in a series of evil men who have warped the course of Salander’s life purely for their own ends. Fortunately, there are some male characters who have her best interests at heart: Salander’s doctor only wants her to get better, despite knowing she is accused of murder, and keeps sending the police away with the justification that Salander is too ill to talk to them. Blomkvist investigates The Section at increasing personal risk to himself, and to his girlfriend and editor of Millennium, Erika, and their two staff, as The Section do their best to prevent the publication of the magazine.
However, this film still belongs to Salander. With guarded, watchful and haunted eyes, Rapace expresses all the hope and frustration Salander is feeling at her circumstances. The trial, the exposure of her past, the possibility to be free of all the men who have ever put her down and wielded power over her, is what the trilogy has built towards. Dressed in her battle armour for court, Salander is gothed-up to the max: black outfit, chains, spikes, a dog-collar, smoky eyes, and a Mohawk hairstyle (partly because her hair was shaved on one side to extract the bullet lodged in her head). Blomkvist’s sister, Annika Giannini, acts as her lawyer, and also provides a strong female presence in the film. The court’s judging panel of five has three women on it.
Despite being incapacitated, Salander is still active in her own exoneration. And, unlike Hollywood films, her recovery is slow and painstaking. There is no busting out of hospital early to clear her name, with a miraculous recovery from her injuries. Over the course of Blomkvist’s investigations, she is shown as completing physiotherapy exercises, and, later, in prison, exercising in her cell, and building up her strength. She will need it, because, if she does get out of jail, her half-brother is still out for vengeance over Zala’s death.
At two and a half hours, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest is long, but worth it for the conclusion to a very engrossing thriller trilogy. Without giving anything away, the ending is very satisfying, and leaves you with hope that Salander may finally be set free of her past, and able to move on with her life.
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Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Anders Ahlbom, Annika Hallin, Micke Spreitz.
Directed by: Daniel Alfredson.
Picking up directly where the previous film, The Girl Who Played With Fire, leaves off, this third and final instalment in Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, brings a fitting and satisfying conclusion to the events established in the first two films.
Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander
It opens with Lisbeth Salander in hospital, recovering from the wounds inflicted by her father, Zala, and half brother, Ronald Niedermann, at the end of the second film. Unfortunately for Salander, her father has survived as well, and when she has recovered from her injuries she will be on trial for his attempted murder. Things are complicated by the presence of a secret faction within the government, named The Section, who are bent on pinning their crimes on Salander. They had her committed when she was twelve, only this time they plan to have her committed for the rest of her life. They are targeting her because they wish to keep secret their involvement in covering up Zala’s crimes. Blomkvist is determined to prove Salander’s innocence, and will do so with a special edition of Millennium devoted to exposing this secret faction. This will also include Salander’s autobiography, written in secret in hospital, the publication of which will coincide with her court trial. Salander writes of her incarceration in a mental institution at the age of twelve (where she was stripped of her legal rights), her relationship with her father, and the rape committed by her guardian in the first film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist
Much of this comes to light in the very tense trial scenes. You feel so much injustice at the unfairness of Salander’s situation that you are willing the judges to see reason and find her innocent. Chiefly, your anger at the injustice of Salander’s past is directed at her psychologist, Dr. Teleborian, the man responsible for committing her in the first place. He writes a damning report of her mental state, which you know to be a fabrication, in order to have her committed again. But he is merely one in a series of evil men who have warped the course of Salander’s life purely for their own ends. Fortunately, there are some male characters who have her best interests at heart: Salander’s doctor only wants her to get better, despite knowing she is accused of murder, and keeps sending the police away with the justification that Salander is too ill to talk to them. Blomkvist investigates The Section at increasing personal risk to himself, and to his girlfriend and editor of Millennium, Erika, and their two staff, as The Section do their best to prevent the publication of the magazine.
Lena Endre as Erika Berger
However, this film still belongs to Salander. With guarded, watchful and haunted eyes, Rapace expresses all the hope and frustration Salander is feeling at her circumstances. The trial, the exposure of her past, the possibility to be free of all the men who have ever put her down and wielded power over her, is what the trilogy has built towards. Dressed in her battle armour for court, Salander is gothed-up to the max: black outfit, chains, spikes, a dog-collar, smoky eyes, and a Mohawk hairstyle (partly because her hair was shaved on one side to extract the bullet lodged in her head). Blomkvist’s sister, Annika Giannini, acts as her lawyer, and also provides a strong female presence in the film. The court’s judging panel of five has three women on it.
Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander
Despite being incapacitated, Salander is still active in her own exoneration. And, unlike Hollywood films, her recovery is slow and painstaking. There is no busting out of hospital early to clear her name, with a miraculous recovery from her injuries. Over the course of Blomkvist’s investigations, she is shown as completing physiotherapy exercises, and, later, in prison, exercising in her cell, and building up her strength. She will need it, because, if she does get out of jail, her half-brother is still out for vengeance over Zala’s death.
Annika Hallin as Annika Giannini
At two and a half hours, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest is long, but worth it for the conclusion to a very engrossing thriller trilogy. Without giving anything away, the ending is very satisfying, and leaves you with hope that Salander may finally be set free of her past, and able to move on with her life.
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