THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST

I’m going to miss Lisbeth Salander. Her black eyeliner, her multiple piercings, her cigarette smoking hunch, her barely there breasts, her steel glances and her utter unpredictability. Amidst the Carrie Bradshaws, I will miss the coolest female character to grace the big screen in a long time. And in the third and final instalment of the Millennium series, we have on-board an array of tough-as-nails female characters minus the unrealistic, made-for-male-fantasy garb. There is a pregnant lawyer, a policewoman and a judge – all of whom play major roles in deciding the fate of a group of corrupt cronies.

The film picks up from where The Girl Who Played With Fire ends. Lisbeth is brought to a hospital, after being shot by her father, where she recovers whilst waiting trial to be charged for murder and Mikael Blomkvist works to clear her name. It all sounds familiar yet like the page-turner books, the final chapter is a captivating watch. Special mention goes to the “pig” Dr. Peter Teleborian (Anders Ahlbom) who reminded me of an evil James Lipton (Inside the Actors Studio) for portraying a classic, rotten-to-the-core psychiatrist whose squirming-in-the-seat scene towards the end of the film made me want to stand up and clap like the audiences allegedly did at screenings of The King’s Speech.

I’m going to miss Lisbeth Salander. Her Mohawk, her chains, her computer hacking skills and her endearing inability to express herself. If not for anything, watch this movie to see Lisbeth attempt a full smile doused with insanity. Oh Lisbeth, you totally awesome freak. (KS) ****