Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
Cast: Claire Foy, Sverrir Gudnason, Lakeith Stanfield, Sylvia Hoeks, Stephen Merchant, Claes Bang, Synnove Macody Lund, Cameron Britton, Vicky Krieps, Andreja Pejic, Mikael Persbrandt, Paula Schramm, Volker Brich, Saskia Sophie Rosendahl, Pal Sverre Hagen.
In much the same way that many insist the James Bond franchise of films has run out space in which to turn, driving its Aston Martin series persona into a cul-de-sac of revenge and suggested toxic masculinity, so too does the character created by Stieg Larsson, Lisbeth Salander, facing her own accusations of misandry and brutality. An eye for an eye perhaps, a reflection of modern times and a heroine in which punches back harder than those who seek domination by sheer size and brute strength.
Arguably there is a place for both characters to exist in the cinematic universe, the sense of adventure and fire that burns within such people needing an outlet in which to satisfy their craving for the often-senseless violence that has been bestowed upon them. In the case of Lisabeth Salander though the pain is perhaps dissipated, wasted physically on screen by the constant change over the course of the series in terms of the actors portraying those the makers want the audience to care about.
It is in this never-ending rotation that leaves The Girl In The Spider’s Web lacking the agility in which to leave the cinema-goer wanting more, a film that just about catches the imagination, a story that is far from unique and with sorrow, could have been written for any heroine in a world that demands more gender equality, a greater presence with complex characters on screen.
The story perhaps falls short because it is one that tries to live up to the imagination of the sadly passed Swedish writer but ultimately doesn’t capture the intensity, the plot feels forced, and when it does find a place in which to run smooth, it fritters away, squanders the release of passion that Claire Foy attempts to install into the stubborn, and often, obliged script.
A difficult rite of passage as yet again the character of Lisabeth Salander is left to stand still, to find ruts of disappointment in which to wallow, The Girl In The Spider’s Web is a maze of complications of its own making, a snarl of lack of direction as it moves away from its ethos and individuality to became yet another also ran of the genre.
Ian D. Hall