The Girl Who Played with Fire/Flickan Som Lekte med Elden (2009) - Sloppy, overlong seconds

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An assured Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in dark, punky robes and hair smokes a cigarette against a car in flames, seemingly unworried, on this poster for Daniel Alfredson's The Girl Who Played with Fire

Renegade hacker Lisbeth Salander returns to Stockholm after a year abroad and is soon accused of 3 murders. They are related to Mikael Blomkvist's new, controversial edition of the Millennium magazine, which sheds light on human trafficking.

 

The Girl Who Played with Fire is written by Jonas Frykberg (Detaljer (2003)), adapting the same-titled 2006 novel by Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (2005)), and directed by Daniel Alfredson (Roseanna (1993)). It is the 2nd film in the Millennium tilogy, based on Larsson's novel trilogy. The English title is a literal translation of the original Swedish title.

If you watch the extended 180 minute version of this, available on home video, beware that it is not only almost an hour longer than the original theatrical cut, it is also at least an hour overlong! It completely loses its suspense in its second half. Here the plot also grows foolish, SPOILER as we recognize that the film's villain is the blond ex-boxer, who is not very frightening. Along comes Salander's face-melted father, - and a half-brother who can't feel pain. The dad turns out to be a Russian spy, while Lisbeth herself can get buried alive and shot again and again - yet live!

The good opening maneuvers are lost on a fatally loose grip on the thriller, with just about every shot in the film labored with some 'fat' that should have been cut from it. Also cinematically, Alfredson's sequel is a far step from the quality and wealth of detail that enriched the fine first film. 

 

Related post:

 

Millennium trilogy: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo/Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (2009) - An exciting adult ride in sadism and mystery from cold cold Sweden

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 4 mil. €, approximately 4.35 mil. $

Box office: 67.1 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 15.42 times its cost)

[The Girl Who Played with Fire was released 18 September (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) and runs 129 minutes. Shooting took place in Portugal and Sweden, including in Stockholm. The film opened #11 to a 904k $ first weekend in 108 theaters in North America, where it peaked in 178 theaters but didn't achieve a higher ranking, grossing 7.6 mil. $ (11.3 % of the total gross). The film's 3 biggest markets were Sweden with 14.4 mil. $ (21.5 %), Denmark with 11.9 mil. $ (17.7 %) and Norway with 7.8 mil. $ (11.6 %). It was nominated for a European Film award. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. Alfredson returned with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest/Luftslottet Som Sprängdes (2009), the final film in the Millennium trilogy. Noomi Rapace (Bright (2017)) returned in that film; Michael Nyqvist (Colonia (2015)) first in Bröllopsfotografen (2009). The Girl Who Played with Fire is fresh at 69 % with a 6.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Girl Who Played with Fire?

The Wife (2017) - Strong acting tethers complex marrital drama

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The two stars, dressed for gala, send tense, loathsome looks on this poster for Björn Runge's The Wife

An American novelist is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, and together with wife and son, the three make the daunting journey across the pond, as old resentment and a major secret surface.

The Wife is written by Jane Anderson (Mad Men (2008, TV-series), adapting the same-titled 2003 novel by Meg Wolitzer (Surrender, Dorothy (1998)), and directed by Björn Runge (Harry och Sonja (1996)). It is a tense and fraught marital drama with Bermanesque tones, (especially since it is mostly set in Sweden), which is powered by sharp performances, especially from leads Jonathan Pryce (Leatherheads (2008)) as the Grand Man author husband, whom Glenn Close's (Hoodwinked! (2005, voice)) complex wife character has just about had enough of finally.
Christian Slater (Breaking In (2011-12)) is solid as a bio-writer, who is sympathetic while at the same time circles the couple with a vulture-like hunger; Max Irons (Dorian Gray (2009)) seems a little old to be the son who lives in his father's shadow, badly needing his approval, but he plays well in the climactic fight and denouement scenes. Harry Lloyd (The Iron Lady (2011)) and Annie Starke (Albert Nobbs (2011)) are very good and credible as young versions of the marrieds, SPOILER who lay the groundwork for the constellation of a Great Writer husband and a secretly ghost-writing missus, which is tearing their marriage apart half a century later.
The Wife is generally a fine drama and a great occasion for Pryce and Close to shine in fleshy roles, which they both fill out very satisfyingly.
It annoys that characters more than once smoke indoors in contemporary Swedish establishments, which is simply unthinkable and has been for more than a decade, important VIP guest or not. Lazy writing, honestly, because what modern people light up cigarettes in fancy locations today?
And then there are small psychological things that nag: SPOILER After decades of such self-discipline, why exactly does Close's character have to explode so impulsively when at the plush gala, seated right next to Swedish royalties? The ending has her indicating that she will write another book under her own name, implying that her deceitful nature now turns to self-deceit, as she must imagine that she'll be able to publish without the world realizing her secret as a decades-long ghost writer.
SPOILER It doesn't seem to be intentional from the creators, but the many decades of diligently churning out novels without demanding credit by Close's character in my eyes blocks an exculpation of her now as her husband takes the world' arguably highest literary honor. She is no victimized innocence but someone who has entered a marriage for self-serving purposes (publication), just as her husband did (to attain her gift for writing.)
The Wife serves well as a debate-starting picture about deceit, equality and the basis of relationships.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 14.2 mil. $ and counting
= Uncertain
[The Wife premiered premiered 12 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Ontario) and runs 100 minutes. Frances McDormand, Gary Oldman and Logan Lerman were pursued to star in the film. Shooting took place in Stockholm, Sweden and in Scotland, including Glasgow, ending in October 2016. The film opened #35 to a 108k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it has peaked at #14 and in 541 cinemas and grossed 7.6 mil. $ to date. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets are Australia with 2 mil. $ and the UK with 1.9 mil. $ but the film is still playing. It will open in Russia 22 Nov., Norway 23 Nov. and in Japan on 26 Jan. 2019. It is rumored that Close is up for a Best Actress Oscar nomination, which would give the film another push in North America and globally. If the film is made for a likely 8-10 mil. $, it still has quite a distance before becoming a theatrical success. Runge is announced to next helm US drama Remember Me. Close returned in Crooked House (2017), Pryce in The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017). The Wife is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of The Wife?

The Square (2017) - Östlund calls out hypocrisy and grabs the monkey in us with provocative, hilarious, bold masterpiece

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+ Best Big Flop Movie of the Year + Best Societal Critique of the Year + Best Stockholm Movie of the Year + Best Swedish Movie of the Year + Best Breakthrough Actor of the Year: Claes Bang

A striking and mysterious poster for Ruben Östlund's The Square

The Square it the 5th fiction feature from Swedish master writer-director Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure/Turist (2014)).

The curator of a prestigious, central Stockholm art museum feels his life come apart by its seems, as he acts upon becoming the victim of a trick theft, while also welcoming a foreign journalist and a new art installation into his life.

Claes Bang (Anna Pihl (2006-08)) gives an impressive performance as the Danish curator Christian, his greatest role yet, which may open an international breakthrough for him. It is a complex role that he succeeds in making sympathetic for the most part, which makes the character's bad decisions so much more cringe-worthy and objectionable. Bang acts as our guy here, and he couldn't do a better job. His mistakes constitute some of the questions the film asks of us: 
How do we personally deal with the less fortunate we come across in our daily lives? The homeless? The strangers?
Are we prejudiced and in which ways?
Do we truly interact with our family members, or are we miles apart? - And is that how we prefer things, at heart?
How do we treat the people we work with, and especially those serving under us?
Östlund's stance here on his countrymen, privileged Swedes and Scandinavians, and Westerners in general, I presume we can broaden his perspective to include, is quite gloomy: SPOILER The Square pitches us against our ancestor the ape more than once, and the implication seems to be that we are slightly evolved apes, who as modern people seem to have regressed socially, from, say, 50 years ago, to a crowd that today are more egotistical and hypocritical than ever.
Thank God the film is also very very funny. It gets its piercing societal and human critique across often through absurdly humorous scenes, and it is brimming with ambitious, often lengthy scenes that are outrageous, provocative, stressful, uncomfortable - and hilarious.
In supporting parts Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale (2017-18)) is terrific as the visiting journalist, SPOILER and you can look forward to a strikingly well-made sex scene between her and Bang. Fredrik Wenzel's (The Ape/Apan (2009)) cinematography is apt here as throughout. Christopher Læssø (Scratch/Bagland (2003)) is very good in a key role as Christian's assistant, and Terry Notary (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)) is frightening and magnetic as a gorilla-imitating performance artist. While the music motif made me think of the works of another great Swedish cinema artist with a flair for both humor and societal critique, Roy Andersson, The Square has a clear connection to Östlund's own mission as also reflected in his startling, original Force Majeure, one that continually prods modern man and his institutions and exhibits hypocrisy and existential anxiety in many forms.
The Square is a rich experience that invites conversation and analysis, - besides the initial laughs and bouts of cold sweats. It even has a few things left unclear in the way that great films sometimes have, where they are not unexplained threads but conscious mysteries left in, seemingly, just to bother us and remind us that real life also can't all be explained. And The Square is probably most of all meant to do just that; bother us. It does so with rare, invigorating talent and drive.

Related post:

Ruben Östlund: 2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2017 in films - according to Film Excess
Force Majeure/Turist (2014) or, Swedes in Trouble

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 5.5 mil. $
Box office: 2 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[The Square premiered 20 May (Cannes) and runs 142 minutes. The film is a Swedish-German-Danish-French co-production of no less than 13 companies. Filming took place from June - October 2016 in Berlin, Germany and Sweden, including in Stockholm. Östlund for most of filming reportedly focused on one scene a day, doing each one up to 50 times. The film won the Palm d'Or in Cannes under jury president Pedro Almodóvar and is Sweden's entry for the 2018 Oscars. It opened the previous weekend in North America in 4 theaters to a 76k $ first weekend at #32. Whether Magnolia Pictures will broaden it now is unknown, (but they should.) The film opened #1 in Sweden with the biggest Swedish film's opening there of 2017 so far, selling 22k tickets. It is set to open in more European markets and Argentina in November and December with a UK release following in March 2018. The Square is certified fresh at 79 % with a 7.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Square?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - Fincher's Nordic noir is technically astute but overlong and redundant

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1 Time Film Excess Nominee:

Best Score: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (lost to Cliff Martinez for Drive)

The slick, black and white poster for David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

QUICK REVIEW:

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist has to leave his magazine workplace in Stockholm due to a libel case and finds an interesting freelance job in working with a younger female hacker at searching out the fate of a teenage girl, who disappeared into thin air 40 years ago.

Following the excellent Scandinavian adaptation of Stieg Larsson's 2005 bestselling novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/Män Som Hatar Kvinnor, the first in his Millennium trilogy, Niels Arden Oplev's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (2009), it is impossible not to view this second adaptation just two years later by great Denver-born director David Fincher (Zodiac (2007)) as redundant.
Daniel Craig (The Golden Compass (2007)) and particularly Oscar-nominated Rooney Mara (Side Effects (2013)) as cool hacker Lisbeth Salander give outstanding performances, while Stellan Skarsgaard (Breaking the Waves (1996)) plays his Martin character a bit too pleasantly.
Fincher's visual flair is unmistakable, realized in fine, Oscar-nominated cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth (Down with Love (2003)), and especially the car scenes are handsomely shot. The score by Trent Reznor (The Social Network (2010)) and Atticus Ross (Blackhat (2015)) is quivering in its vivaciousness. The Oscar-winning, stressful editing by Kirk Baxter (Gone Girl (2014)) and Angus Wall (Panic Room (2002)) gives the film an impression of constant development, although the plot is stretched out on a playtime (158 minutes) which is too long, and we for instance have to watch what must nearly be an unequaled amount of cigarettes get lit. In Steve Zaillian's (American Gangster (2007)) script, we are far across the one hour mark before the Blomkvist and Salander plot-lines collide, which is far too long. After the climax, the makers also go to great lengths in order to try to weave the Wennerström plot to an end.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an alright film, but a far cry from the lean thrills of the first adaptation.

Related review:

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (2009) - An exciting adult ride in sadism and mystery from cold cold Sweden 

Watch the admittedly bold and awesome trailer for the film here

Cost: 90 mil. $
Box office: 232.6 mil. $
= Even Steven
[Dragon Tattoo's development began in 2009, unrelated to the Scandinavian film, and it was shot in September - December 2010 on location in Sweden, the UK and US. It opened to great reviews and a 21 mil. $ first domestic weekend. It grossed 102.5 mil. $ (44 % of the total gross) in North America. It went unreleased in India and Vietnam due to the strict censorship in those countries. Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK (18.7 mil. $) and Japan (15.8 mil. $). The film has made an additional 22.1 mil. $ on DVD/Bluray. It was 5 time Oscar-nominated; for Actress (Mara), Cinematography, Editing (won), Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is 86 % certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 7.6 critical average. There is still talk of Fincher directing the second and third book in the trilogy as well, although it will likely never happen in my opinion.]

What do you think of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?
If you have read the book(s) and/or seen the Scandinavian film(s), please make your verdicts known