Main Image: 

Published: 11 March 2010
by DAN CARRIER

THE Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest are three mystery thrillers that have taken the book world by storm, and the films of the trilogy have done super box office business in Sweden, where they originate from, and across Europe.

This polished version of book one introduces us to some complex characters and also gives the viewer a plot, and a reason to give up a ­couple of hours of your leisure time. It is a tricky task and while The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is undoubtedly well made and thought out, I couldn’t help thinking that if I wasn’t a fan of the books (I am) then I’d have found the films on the wrong side of ­preposterous. 

And this is essentially because the story behind the books is as good as what you find between the covers. Swedish author Steig Larsson was brought up by his grandfather ­Severin Bostrom, a famed anti-Nazi who was imprisoned by the invading Germans during the war. His stories deeply touched Steig and influenced him to spend his life campaigning for equality, democracy and freedom of speech. 

In the mid-1970s, he worked for radical magazine TT, and developed an interest in the nasty growth of the far right. He researched neo-Nazis living in Sweden, and in 1991 he wrote a book called Right Wing Extremism focusing on the frightening fascist groups operating in Europe. It made Larsson a target for those who did not like what he wrote: a Neo-Nazi newspaper published a picture of Larsson, his home address and telephone number, and asked their readers whether they felt “he should be allowed to continue his work, or whether something should be done...” 

It was a real threat, and eventually resulted in the editor of the magazine being sent to prison. Larsson was no doubt scared, but he did not show it. Instead he stepped up his research, seeking out the people peddling hatred and bigotry, battling ignorant racism that scars societies. He worked for a time for the UK anti-Nazi magazine Searchlight, and then founded a Swedish version called Expo in 1995. 

But his work had its drawbacks. Steig and lifelong partner Eva spent much of their lives living in fear. They were constantly threatened for daring to publish the truth about the activities of racists. When a union leader was murdered in 1999, Swedish detectives found detailed notes on Steig and Eva in the killer’s flat – even down to a layout map of their home, and notes on their daily routines and their social diaries. It made Steig unintentionally an expert on security issues – a fact you can’t help but notice in the trilogy. And the more you look at the character of Kalle Blomkvist, the leading man in his novels, the more obvious it becomes that Larsson got his inspiration from his own life.

The tragedy of Steig’s early death adds to his reputation, and the fascination people have with the Blomkvist story. It is amazing to think he died before they were published. He never expected to write a best-seller – he told friends he wrote the novels to relax.

And his books are the archetypal page turners.  Racy, quick-witted, exciting: it is no surprise they have sold more than 25 million around the world, with one million of those in Britain alone. It has laid the ground for the film to do well too – the first instalment was released in Europe last year, and quickly became the Continent’s biggest box office success of 2009.

The film works, but only if you like the books. If you haven’t read them the film will  seem a little disjointed and muddled. I read the books and found the director got everything just right: maverick computer expert and private detective Lisabeth is brilliantly cast, as is Blomkvist. 

The feel of the story is about right too. But the books act some­what as a prop: this is otherwise not a well thought out thriller that stands on its own. It is instead a worthy cinematic tribute to a great journalist who happened to write some pulp fiction to unwind at night.