The title of this post is the tagline for The Girl Who Played With Fire, the second of the Millennium trilogy. I recently watched both this movie and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Both excellent adaptations for the screen. The second film of the trilogy might very well be my favourite. I love the plot and the characters. Lisbeth Salander is the best character in any film I have seen recently. She kicks some serious ass. She is not a perfect character. She shuts down and pushes people away. She is human. And she is awesome.
She gets revenge. Women in movies don't often get to get revenge and still be the hero. Women in movies usually get saved by the man, and get heterosexual romance as their reward for being nice. Women who speak out get punished. Not this time. She gets revenge and she lives. No sappy romantic ending in sight either.
One of my favourite scenes has got to be Lisbeth walking in to a trial all punked out. It is a giant middle finger to the system. And I love watching her and her (female) lawyer win their case resoundingly, exposing abuse and corruption for the awful criminal acts that they are. It made me want to cheer out loud. I loved the feeling that I was watching something that really connected. Also I always love a good courtroom drama so this was extra special.
All I really have to add is to go watch these movies! Now. Before the Hollywood versions come out. They are fantastic pieces of cinema that we are lucky to have at least semi-mainstream.
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