First things first, let’s get rid of some movie-goers. The movie is foreign. It’s Swedish, so subtitles. Its disturbing, graphic violence and mature subject matter are not for the fainthearted. Now that everyone’s gone, the adaptation from global bestseller, the late Stieg Larsson, is a thrilling take on the murder-mystery genre, which captivates from first to final act. The cold, dry backdrop of Sweden’s countryside appropriately sets the tone for the dark case of Harriet Vanger’s mysterious disappearance 40 years ago. Convinced the killer was someone in his own powerful family; Harriet’s beloved uncle commissions the disgraced financial reporter, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and troubled computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to unravel the mystery. The acting from both leads is excellent, but the poise with which Rapace portrays her demanding role of bleak heroine is a delight for film aficionados grown tired of vacuous female heroes.

Out already in limited release across the US, Canadians have to wait for the end of May to catch this suspense-thriller. The good news is that the two other novels in the trilogy are also being adapted into film. Hopefully they’re released before Hollywood has a chance to botch this into another horrible English remake (See or don’t see 2009’s Brothers).