[♪♪♪]
[PHONE RINGING]
What kind is it? MAN [OVER PHONE]: I don't know.
White?
And the frame?
Dark. Postmark?
Same as last time.
And no note.
No.
I'm so sorry, Henrik.
[KAREN O & TRENT REZNOR'S "IMMIGRANT SONG" PLAYING]
♪ Ah-ah-ahh-ah ♪
♪ We come from the land Of the ice and snow ♪
♪ From the midnight sun Where the hot springs blow ♪
♪ The hammer of the gods Will drive our ships to new lands ♪
♪ To fight the horde And sing and cry ♪
♪ Valhalla, I am coming ♪
♪ On we sweep with Threshing oar ♪
♪ Our only goal Will be the western shore ♪
♪ Ah-ah-ahh-ah ♪
♪ We come from the land Of the ice and snow ♪
♪ From the midnight sun Where the hot springs flow ♪
♪ How soft your fields, so green ♪
♪ Can whisper tales of gore ♪
♪ Of how we calmed The tides of war ♪
♪ We are your overlords ♪
♪ On we sweep with Threshing oar ♪
♪ Our only goal Will be the western shore ♪
♪ So now you better stop And rebuild all your ruins ♪
♪ For peace and trust Can win the day ♪
♪ Despite of all you're losin' ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh ♪♪
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
REPORTER 1: Will you appeal?
What is this? The media event of the year?
Don't try to play it down, Mikael. It won't work.
Don't try to play it up. That won't work either.
REPORTER 2: Mikael, can we get a quote?
Mikael, will you appeal?
Yes. I'll appeal to you, Viggo.
[REPORTERS CLAMORING]
WOMAN 1 [ON TV]: Up until today, Mr. Blomkvist was able to play the victim,
the brave journalist going up against the bad guy.
MAN 1: I don't know why malicious intent couldn't be proven. When you call a guy a criminal...
MAN 2: If you want to say these things...
WOMAN 2: Mikael Blomkvist likes publicity.
MAN 3: There's really no greater disgrace for a journalist than libel.
REPORTER [ON TV]: ... was found guilty today on 16 counts of aggravated libel.
Can I get that sandwich there? And a black coffee.
In an article published earlier this year, Blomkvist claimed,
Wennerström, founder and president of the Wennerström Group,
used state funds intended for industrial development in Poland
in an arms deal with the right-wing Ustaše in Croatia.
I have nothing against Mr. Blomkvist. He's a fine journalist,
who I don't believe is guided by malice.
But what he wrote was inaccurate.
And inaccuracies can't go unanswered.
All journalists have to accept, like the rest of us,
actions have consequences.
REPORTER: Blomkvist was ordered to pay
600,000 Swedish kronor in damages and all court costs.
Can I get a packet of Marlboro Red and a lighter?
[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ON TV]
[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[CHATTERING STOPS]
Tsk. Yeah.
Where have you been? Walking. Thinking.
Smoking? Yeah. Just one.
TV4 called. I told them no statement
until we've read the judgment in its entirety.
Well, I have. Anyone else?
Everyone who wants to see you humiliated.
Been on the phone all morning? I'm as much to blame.
You are? You wrote it? I read it. I ran it.
Not the same. Our credibility isn't dead yet.
Mine is.
I'm tired.
I'm gonna go home, crawl under the duvet for a week.
I'll call Greger, tell him I'm not coming home.
Thank you.
It's possible we could wait forever.
You called her and spoke to her? I'm afraid that doesn't mean much.
No one here particularly likes her.
I find it's much better if she works from home.
But you told her I wanted to meet with her.
I've told her many times I prefer her not to meet clients.
[SNIFFS]
FRODE: You like her? ARMANSKY: Very much.
She's one of the best investigators I have, as you saw from her report.
But? I'm concerned you won't like her.
Mm. She's different.
In what way?
In every way.
[SCANNER BEEPS]
[♪♪♪]
MAN [OVER INTERCOM]: Miss Salander is here.
[DOOR OPENS]
Lisbeth.
Mr. Dirch Frode.
How do you do?
Something wrong with the report?
FRODE: No, it was quite thorough.
But I'm also interested in what's not in it.
There's nothing not in it. Your opinion of him isn't.
I'm not paid to give my opinion. So you don't have one?
He's clean, in my opinion.
You mean he's hygienic?
He's who he presents himself to be. In his business, that's an asset.
Well, there's less in his asset column after his conviction today.
True. He made a fool of himself.
If it happened that way.
Are you suggesting that he was set up?
That was never part of my assignment.
But you're right.
He did make a fool of himself professionally.
How much of a fool did he make of himself financially?
The judgment will just about empty his savings.
May I go? FRODE: Moment.
Your report is light in another area.
His personal life.
Anything you chose not to disclose?
Nothing that warranted inclusion.
Does that mean yes or no?
I think what Miss Salander means, and I agree, is that everyone has a right
to a certain amount of privacy, even if they're being investigated.
FRODE: Not in this case. I need to know anything about him
I might find unsavory, even if she doesn't.
He's had a longstanding sexual relationship
with his co-editor of the magazine. It wrecked his marriage but not hers.
Sometimes he performs cunnilingus.
Not often enough, in my opinion.
No, you're right not to include that.
I know.
[BELFEGORE'S "ALL THAT I WANTED" PLAYING NEARBY]
[COMPUTER CHIMES]
[TIMER DINGS]
[COMPUTER CHIMING]
[WOMAN LAUGHS NEARBY]
You needed a better attorney. You needed your sister.
She offered. He declined.
As she hoped. Never a good idea.
Mixing family and business. I would've lost anyway.
It wasn't about Mikael. It was about Wennerström sending a message
to the press and the FSA, saying, "Don't ask questions."
Cheer up.
[STRADELLA'S "SONATA IN D MAJOR FOR TRUMPET & STRINGS" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
Dad.
Nilla, you don't have to worry about me.
Mom's worried. About me?
About the money.
[SIGHS]
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
[DOOR BUZZES]
[♪♪♪]
[DOOR BUZZES]
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
MAN: Good evening.
[MEL TORME'S "THE CHRISTMAS WALTZ" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
Nilla? What are you doing?
Nothing.
Are you serious?
I don't wanna talk about it since I know you won't approve.
Of, um...?
Nilla. Light of Life.
Light of what?
[CELL PHONE CHIMING]
Hello? FRODE: Herr Blomkvist.
Yeah. Forgive me for intruding
on Christmas. My name is Dirch Frode.
I'm an attorney. I represent Henrik Vanger. Perhaps you've heard of him?
Yeah, of course I have.
He'd love to talk to you about a private matter.
This is an awkward moment.
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm about to sit down to a Christmas dinner myself.
No, that's not exactly what I meant.
You're referring to your recent legal problems.
That has provided us with much amusement.
I'm sorry?
Herr Vanger has little love for Herr Wennerström either.
Have him call me. But he would love to speak to you
in person, if possible. Up north.
In Hedestad. That's not gonna be possible.
Herr Blomkvist, he's far too old to go to Stockholm. Please.
Be so kind as to consider.
Hedestad is lovely in the winter.
I'll call you back on this number. Okay?
[SIGHS]
Usually when I wake up in a cold bed it's at home.
I'm sorry. What are you doing?
I'm writing a press release. Saying?
You're taking over as publisher, you're very sorry
for any nuisance Mr. Wennerström was caused,
and I can't be reached for comment. Are you giving up?
Stepping aside.
This makes me sick.
[♪♪♪]
[SHUDDERS]
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER PA]
FRODE: First time in Hedestad? MIKAEL: And the last.
FRODE: Oh, don't say that. It's lovely in the spring.
You said it would be lovely in the winter.
Well, this is unseasonable.
Well, I'll be on the 4:30 train back to Stockholm.
Unless we get snowed in.
I'm joking.
You'll be home tonight, if that's what you wish.
[♪♪♪]
VANGER: Welcome.
Come inside.
It's warm.
MIKAEL: How do you do?
So,
what do you know about me?
You used to run one of the largest industrial firms in the country.
"Used to." That's correct. Oh, I didn't mean that.
Should I stay? No.
My grandfather forged the tracks
that the 4:30 train will take you home on.
We stitched this country together.
We made the steel, milled the lumber that built modern Sweden.
And what do you think our most profitable product now is?
Fertilizer. Heh, heh.
I'm not obsessed by the declining health of the company.
But I am with the settling of accounts.
And the clock is ticking. I need your help.
I'm... Doing what?
Officially, assisting with my memoirs.
But what you'll really be doing
is solving a mystery by doing what you do so well.
Your recent legal mishap notwithstanding.
You will be investigating thieves, misers, bullies,
the most detestable collection of people that you will ever meet.
My family.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[KHOMA'S "THE GUILLOTINE" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
Would you like to sit? I could possibly clear a place if necessary.
Did you make it? Have you something for me?
I am on welfare, I do not administer it. This is not enough.
♪ Only one thing left to do I can hurt someone like you ♪
♪ Tear you out For all to see these lies ♪♪
No, thank you.
VANGER: This is Harriet.
The granddaughter of my brother Richard.
Richard was a Nazi of the first order,
joining the Nationalist Socialist Freedom League when he was 17.
Isn't it interesting how fascists always steal the word "freedom"? Heh, heh.
[CLOCK CHIMING]
Oh, the 4:30. Yes, I know. Okay.
Anyway, Richard died a martyr to the Nazi cause in 1940.
Missed all the real excitement.
But not the opportunity to regularly beat his wife, Margareta,
and their son, Gottfried.
Now, Gottfried, Harriet's father,
was what they used to call a good-time Charlie.
They still call them that. Do they? Okay.
He was a charmer, a ladies' man and a drunk.
In other words, a born salesman. Which he did for the company,
traveling around and taking clients out to dinner.
Well, somebody's gotta do it. That's right.
Anyway, ahem, he died in 1965.
Drowned, drunk, here on the island.
His wife, Isabella, who had been pretty much useless as a parent before,
became even more so after his death,
which is when I began looking after the children.
Martin, who runs Vanger Industries, now that I'm retired.
That's right, I Googled him.
VANGER: And Harriet.
Ah. She was bright, curious,
a winning combination in any person.
And beautiful. Yeah.
Something happened to her?
Someone in the family murdered Harriet,
and for the past 40 years,
has been trying to drive me insane.
[♪♪♪]
VANGER: It was September 24th, 1966.
A Saturday.
Harriet was 16.
My brothers
and their wives and their children and grandchildren were all gathered here
for our loathsome annual board meeting and dinner.
It was also the day the yacht club held their autumn parade.
Harriet, with one or two school friends, went into town to see it.
She returned a little after 2:00.
She came into the parlor. She asked if she could talk to me.
I honestly don't remember what I was doing
that I thought was more important,
but I told her to give me a few minutes.
It was during those few minutes that something else occurred.
The accident had nothing to do with Harriet,
and yet everything.
Heh. It was chaos as everybody put down what they were doing.
Police, ambulance, fire brigade,
reporters, photographers, onlookers all quickly arrived from town
just as we on the island, the family, hurried to the bridge from our side.
The driver of the car,
a man named Aronsson,
was pinned and severely injured.
We tried desperately to pry him loose with our hands
since metal tools might spark.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
It was an hour after the crash that Harriet was in the kitchen.
Anna herself saw her.
Well, we finally got poor Aronsson out of his car and off to the hospital.
Just as we from our side
slowly drifted back to the house.
The sun was down, the excitement over.
We sat down to dinner.
It was then that I noticed
Harriet wasn't there.
And she wasn't there the next morning.
Or the next.
Or the next 40 years.
What was she going to tell me?
Why didn't I make time for her? Why didn't I listen?
And she couldn't have just run away? No. Not without being seen.
The firemen stayed out all night
on the bridge pumping up gasoline.
No one swam across or took a boat.
All the boats were still tied up on this side Sunday.
Believe me, I checked.
MIKAEL: She couldn't have just fallen and drowned?
No. The currents aren't strong here. Anything that falls in the water turns up.
Like her father.
His body didn't drift more than 10 meters
when he drowned the year before.
Oh, no. Someone killed her.
Someone on the island that day.
Someone close enough to know
what she used to give me each year on my birthday.
Those are from her.
And the rest, from her killer.
Who knows about these?
There's me, the police, the killer,
and now you.
VANGER: After the police investigation evaporated,
I kept at it, studying all the information there was.
I have spent half my life examining the events of a single day.
I understand your frustration,
but what you're asking me to do, it's a waste of money.
But we haven't discussed your fee. We don't need to.
Thank you.
I can't find something you've been unable to find in 40 years.
You don't know that. You have a very keen investigative mind.
Here's what I propose:
You come stay on the island.
I have a nice little cottage by the water you can use.
You study the material I send you.
You find something I've missed or you don't.
What you're asking me to do is set aside my life and career for...
Think of this as a well-deserved holiday.
A way of avoiding all those people that you might want to avoid right now.
As for compensation, I'll pay you double your salary
for as many months as it takes.
Quadruple it if you solve the mystery. Herr Vanger...
I'm not done. I will throw in one more thing,
even though you're a terrible negotiator.
It's something you want more than anything else,
and it can't be bought at any price. So let me give it to you.
Hans-Erik Wennerström.
He began his career working for me,
and I have followed it with interest, shall we say, ever since.
[♪♪♪]
You were right about him.
You just couldn't prove it.
[DEVICE BEEPS]
We're in the middle of the worst crisis ever, and you're writing a memoir.
You fired me. I need something to do. You fired you.
I need you here, not the North Pole.
Mikael, you know what this is going to look like.
Like I've been gutted. I'm running away. I am.
Wennerström wants to see me wave a white flag, not a red flag.
If it looks like there's a problem between us, it'll satisfy him.
There is a problem between us.
He won't be satisfied until he shuts us down.
You're leaving me to fight him alone. It's four hours by train.
It's not the North Pole.
[THE TOUGH ALLIANCE'S "A NEW CHANCE" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
[BEEPS]
[PER OHLSSON'S "O TANNENBAUM (O CHRISTMAS TREE)" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
Hey, hey.
[♪♪♪]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[DIALING PHONE]
[LINE BEEPING]
[RECORDED VOICE SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
RECORDED VOICE: Network busy. Please try again later.
[DIALING PHONE]
[LINE BEEPING]
[CAT MEOWS]
[RECORDED VOICE SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
RECORDED VOICE: Network busy. Please try again later.
[MEOWS]
MIKAEL: What?
Some milk?
[PURRS]
[DIALING PHONE]
[LINE BEEPING]
[RECORDED VOICE SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
RECORDED VOICE: Network busy. Please try again later.
[SIGHS]
Oh, yeah. These as well.
[SCANNER BEEPING]
[DIALING PHONE]
[LINE BEEPING]
[MIKAEL GROANS]
[♪♪♪]
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER PA]
You're Mr. Palmgren's daughter?
His ward. He doesn't have a daughter.
[SIGHS]
Please.
DOCTOR: He's had severe cerebral hemorrhaging,
either from the fall itself or from a stroke that led to the fall.
His blood pressure is still high.
I'm hopeful he'll regain consciousness, but that's not assured.
And it's possible, even if he does,
that there will be neurological damage.
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
Oh, jeez.
[CAT SCREECHES]
Hi. I'm Gunnar.
The caretaker.
Oh, hey, Gunnar. Come in. Okay.
You want to put it in there? Okay.
GUNNAR: You're an author.
Well, I'm doing a biography of Herr Vanger.
Oh.
I saw you on television. That's unfortunate.
Bit of trouble, I guess.
No jail time though. That's good. No.
Cost you a lot of money though, yeah?
There.
[SPEAKS IN SWEDISH]
VANGER: The entire island is owned by my family.
Your closest neighbor is my brother Harald,
another Nazi, if you can believe.
Two in the family.
Oh, yes, he's quite detestable, to put it nicely.
But you'll probably never see him. He's a recluse.
He was there that day? Indeed, he was.
His daughter, Cecilia, lives over there.
They don't speak.
Does anybody speak to anybody on this island?
Ha, ha. Actually, Isabella, Harriet's mother, who lives there,
she speaks to Harald, which is one of the reasons I don't speak to her.
Right.
Cecilia's brother, Birger, lives over there.
MIKAEL: Who doesn't he speak to?
VANGER: You, probably.
But you wouldn't want him to. He can be just as unpleasant as Harald.
Quickly losing track of who's who here.
Ho-ho-ho. How you'll wish it were always so.
Soon you will know us all only too well, with my apologies.
Now, out there, my grandnephew Martin's house, Harriet's brother.
Who speaks to him?
I speak to him. He runs the company now, as I think I told you.
[GUNSHOT]
Oh. Someone's shooting his dinner. Gunnar, probably.
Oh, yes, I met him earlier.
He was 19 when Harriet disappeared.
Well, he lives over there.
And you live there. Sorry?
Your house.
Oh. Ha. Oh, yes.
Yes, you're right.
The man who hires the detective
should always be kept on the suspects list.
[SIGHS]
[♪♪♪]
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
Her mother.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
VANGER: But what about the search? Please.
Please. I beg you.
[SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY]
MORELL: The fact that I never found a body was not surprising.
You can't dig up an entire island.
But neither could I find the motive.
Was it spontaneous? Was it calculated?
Did she know something someone wished she didn't?
Was it about business? Business? Well, she was 16.
And very bright.
Henrik told me and many others he could easily see her
running the company one day.
She was with some friends that day at a parade.
She told them she was feeling unwell. She left early.
But they also told me she kept secrets from them too.
The main thing I learned was that teenage girls are complicated.
I have one. Oh, then you know.
I wanted to, uh, ahem,
ask you about this.
She received that from Henrik the Christmas before.
I've studied it more times than I can say.
I know every page of it.
It's the last page I was curious about. As was I.
It's a list of names, numbers and it must have some significance.
All local phone numbers.
The first belonged to a woman, Margot,
whose mother was Magda, who denied knowing Harriet.
The fourth, R.L., belonged to Rosmarie Larsson,
an elderly woman who died some years before.
The other three were not connected in any way that I could find.
I reminded you of things you'd rather forget, and I'm sorry.
I can't forget.
It's my Rebecka case.
Uh, I don't know what that is.
Every policeman has at least one unsolved case to obsess over.
Back then we had an Officer Torstensson.
Year after year, he kept going back to this Rebecka case.
Taking out the files, studying them over and over.
We were young. We laughed at him.
And that was also a missing-girl case?
No, no, no, that's not why I mention it.
I'm talking about the soul of a policeman.
MORELL: Poor old Torstensson never solved it.
And he never let it go.
[TRAIN HORN BLARING]
MAN: So how's Mr. Palmgren doing?
I heard he had a stroke of some kind? Huh?
It's terrible.
Now, what exactly do you do at this security company?
Make coffee, sort mail.
But not full-time.
Not even part-time consistently.
They somehow got along without coffee or mail in July and August?
How much do you make there? Enough.
How much is your rent?
I pay my rent.
And when was the last time you were late?
Never.
You think that thing through your eyebrow makes you attractive?
Here's the problem.
There's a discrepancy between the obligation
of Mr. Palmgren's guardianship and the management of your finances.
There's no discrepancy. It was clear I could manage my own finances.
That is not clear to me.
I'm not a child. You are not. But you were.
And between then and now, you were committed
to the locked ward of St. Stefan's where you continued
to display violent aggression.
And you failed to adapt to four foster homes,
arrested twice for intoxication, twice for narcotics,
again for assault, smashing a bottle into a man's face.
And it's not even that long ago.
You may have conned Mr. Palmgren into thinking that you have changed,
but when I'm looking at this,
not to mention the way you're looking at me now,
I don't think you have.
So the good old Mr. Palmgren days are over.
Starting now, you will be given a monthly allowance.
You'll provide me with receipts for your expenses.
If the numbers don't balance, I assume the difference is going to drugs.
I've taken care of myself since I was 10.
The state has taken care of you.
Miss Salander, please, look at me, this is important.
Since your behavior is elaborately documented in here,
it will shock no one if I chose an alternative
to the very lenient arrangement I have just outlined.
Would you prefer institutionalization?
[♪♪♪]
[SCREAMS]
Mikael? MIKAEL: Yes.
I'm Liv. Oh, hi.
We're going to the same place. Hop in.
Oh, good, thank you.
I found him at death's door, halfway up the hill.
I'm afraid I'm a little out of shape. It's a climb for anyone.
I should've warned you. Come in. MIKAEL: Thank you, Martin.
MARTIN: Henrik says great things about you.
LIV: Mmm. Martin? Smells wonderful. MARTIN: No. Leave your shoes on.
LIV: What are we drinking?
MIKAEL: What a place. Look at that view.
I used to work in the company's petrochemical division in Göteborg.
When it was sold, I went with it.
A dark day.
LIV: I live in Hong Kong, but come back to Stockholm for family events.
And I drive up to spend a couple of days with Martin.
It's just the moose steak she wants. Who can blame her? It's wonderful.
[WIND WHISTLING]
Something's left open. Do you like this wine,
or you want to try something else? No, no, it's fine.
[TAKEN BY TREES' "ANNANASS" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
You're writing a book now, Martin said.
Henrik's biography. I love Henrik. He's fascinating.
Martin too.
Together they are the old Sweden and the new.
Yes, they are.
You know about Harriet, right?
You don't? Yes, I do.
The family doesn't want to talk about it, but it can't be swept under the rug.
What can't? Harriet.
We can talk about it later.
Uh... We can talk about it now.
Liv knows everything about my crazy family.
That's why she'll never marry me. That's one reason.
MARTIN: I don't want to read about that in the book.
Everything else is fine. Harriet certainly.
You know, everything changed after that.
Not just the family, but the company as well.
How so? We're not Ericsson or Nordea.
But we're still the largest family-owned company in the country.
At our height we had 40,000 employees.
We have half of that now.
And that downward slide began after my sister's death.
[♪♪♪]
It broke Henrik's entrepreneurial spirit
and his heart.
Uh... You were here that day? MARTIN: I came in later,
after the accident on the bridge, with the 4:30 train.
I know it well. A terrible day.
[SIGHS]
And the days after, you know?
Searching, not finding. Even worse.
This event, Mikael, it has to have a big part in your book.
[MARTIN SPEAKS IN SWEDISH]
I got a call from social welfare.
I've been assigned a new guardian.
[♪♪♪]
Hi. Hello.
I thought I'd come over and say hello.
I'm Cecilia. Oh, yes. Please, come in.
Can I get you some coffee?
No, thank you.
We are all uncomfortable with the idea of a chronicle of our family.
It's not about the family. It's about Henrik and the company.
Like I said.
It's not my intention to present a malicious portrait of anyone.
CECILIA: Unlike the one that landed you in court.
Unlike that one, yes.
So you're not really here to find out what happened to Harriet.
I can't ignore such a dramatic event, but, no, that's by no means my focus.
Those boxes that Gunnar carted down here,
which are where, in the closet now? Those weren't Henrik's investigation?
I wonder sometimes who's crazier, my Nazi father or my obsessed uncle.
Since we're talking about her,
since you brought her up, what was she like?
What was Harriet like?
I'm sure Henrik has told you. He was my age back then.
He couldn't know what was really going on with a teenager.
You were the same age.
My sister Anita was closer to her in age.
She knew Harriet better than anyone. You should talk to her.
I'd love to. Where is she? If I had to guess, London.
You don't know where your sister lives?
I haven't seen her in years. We never really got along.
I'm getting used to that comment. She hates this place more than I do.
She left. Moved to London, that was it.
You couldn't pay her to send a Christmas card, much less visit.
I'll track her down for you.
If you do, and try talking to her about us,
don't be surprised if she tells you to fuck off.
[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]
MAN: You're backed up, aren't you?
[CLAN OF XYMOX'S "IN YOUR ARMS AGAIN" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
Hard drive at home, yeah.
Okay. That's good, because this one's done.
BJURMAN: Have you ever had any sexually transmitted diseases?
[BUFFER WHIRRING]
And when was the last time that you were tested for HIV?
How many partners have you had in the last month?
And how many of those were men?
It's regulation, I have to ask these things. It's a health matter.
Write what you want.
And why do you need such an expensive computer?
For work. Making coffee, sorting mail.
I should have control of my money. And you will.
Once you learn to be sociable, get along with people. Huh?
Can you do that?
Why don't we start with that now, huh?
Why don't we start with me?
You do something for me, I do something for you.
That's what normal people do.
[♪♪♪]
I want you to have that computer.
Feel that.
That's gabardine.
[BELT CLINKING]
Unzip it.
[UNZIPS]
And...
[GASPS]
I like the reticence.
It's almost convincing.
[MOANS]
[GRAVEYARD'S "AIN'T FIT TO LIVE HERE" PLAYING OVER HEADPHONES]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
MIKAEL: Anita Vanger.
Through there. Thank you.
Excuse me.
I probably should have made an appointment.
Mm, no, it's fine. Um...
Please have a seat. Thank you.
Mikael. Mikael. How do you do?
How do you do?
So you're looking for investment counseling?
Well, I would be if I had any money.
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
I'm writing a biography of your Uncle Henrik. That's why I'm here.
I haven't seen him in over 20 years.
Actually, it's a lot more than that.
Haven't seen my sister, haven't seen anyone in that family.
Most of what I'm writing about predates that,
so your recollections are valid.
I wouldn't know where to start, if that was a question.
Well, then let me narrow it down. I've gotten up to the 1960s,
to the event that, you know, changed everything in Henrik's life.
Harriet.
Um, everything that I know about that, I told to whatever his name was.
Morell.
My recollections were a lot better then.
I'm not really speaking about the event itself.
I just want to get a clearer sense of what Harriet was like.
She was very messed up.
Well, just like all us Vanger kids, really, but...
Crazy mother.
Drunken father.
At least her father wasn't a Nazi.
Was he abusive? Mine?
No, hers.
Not that I ever saw, but you could tell that something was going on.
Some days she'd be very withdrawn.
And then the next minute she'd be putting on makeup
and wearing the tightest sweater that she had to school.
And then she'd be studying her Bible like a nun.
No Vanger was ever religious. Can you imagine?
She was obviously very unhappy.
What do you think happened to her? Everyone knows what.
You don't have any thoughts about who or why?
All that I know is that I felt really sorry for her.
I got away when I was 18 and I never went back.
And she'd have done the same.
But she never made it to 18.
LISBETH: Mr. Bjurman, please. It's Lisbeth Salander.
MAN [OVER PHONE]: Hold for a moment, please.
BJURMAN: Lisbeth, I haven't seen you. Are you well?
I'm fine. I'm sorry I missed our appointment, I had a lot of work.
Something the matter?
No, no, nothing to be concerned about.
Actually, I need another advance on my allowance.
Can I come to your office tonight?
I don't work at night, Lisbeth.
Why don't you come to my house, huh? Do you have a pen?
I don't need a pen. What's the address?
It's, uh...
[BJURMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[♪♪♪]
[INTERCOM DIALING]
BJURMAN: Hello? It's me.
[DOOR BUZZES]
Lisbeth.
Come on in.
You like it? It's nice.
It's home.
What do you need money for this time?
Food.
How are you?
I'm so glad you decided to come and visit.
I just want my money.
Well, let's see if we can help you out with that.
Wait.
Is there a problem?
I just want to know,
am I going to have to do this every time I need money to eat?
You're so cute when you're surly.
[GRUNTING]
[LISBETH GRUNTING AND SCREAMING]
[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
[GRUNTING]
[SCREAMING]
[SOBBING]
[GRUNTING]
[SCREAMING]
I forgot to ask you:
You like anal sex?
[SCREAMING]
[PANTING]
[THE CHOIR OF NEW COLLEGE OXFORD'S "LUX AETERNA" PLAYING OVER HEADPHONES]
[MUSIC STOPS]
HARRIET: Faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand
that the world was created by the word of God.
["LUX AETERNA" PLAYING OVER HEADPHONES]
[♪♪♪]
I'll drive you home. I can get home on my own.
Are you sure?
[♪♪♪]
[KEYS CLATTER]
[GROANS]
Is it any warmer inside? No.
I apologize if you've been having financial problems
at the magazine during Mikael's absence.
We'll work through them. VANGER: Are you sure?
How long do you think you can hang on?
Six months?
That sounds about right.
VANGER: I used to be in the newspaper business.
We owned six dailies back in the '50s.
We still own one. The Courier, here in town.
Which I let my nephew, Birger, run, because he can't run anything else.
So, what would you say to taking on a partner?
Well, we've never had to consider it before.
We value our independence very much.
Independence in publishing is dependent on advertisers.
However much you have, you retain. We don't care about content.
Excuse me. Did I miss something?
Talking about investing in the magazine.
I gathered that. But why? Not out of greed, that's for sure.
I feel badly that I've taken Mikael away from you at the worst possible time.
But now I am convinced that this is the right thing to do. The moral thing.
That's one reason. And, um...
And...?
The enemies of my friends are my enemies.
MIKAEL: How long have you been discussing this with them?
I haven't. They called yesterday and asked me to come up.
Why didn't you tell me? You live in the woods.
I deserve to be treated like an idiot?
I wanted to hear what they had to say.
You would've said no before they could.
Well, I'm saying it now. It's a bad idea.
You heard me tell them we had six months. I lied.
We will be out of business in three.
But you don't know this family like I do. They're crazy.
We're not marrying into it.
If we do this, that's exactly what we're doing.
So you wanna say no, let's say no.
Instead of 50 percent of something, let's own 100 percent of nothing.
Mikael? What?
I'm leaving this godforsaken island in the morning.
So? So are you coming to bed or not?
[ULVER'S "IN THE RED" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
How much do one of those cost?
Around 3000.
This is really gonna hurt.
Your call.
[BUZZING]
Vanger Industries took a controlling interest in Millennium magazine,
which, according to analysts, has been in financial trouble...
MARTIN: Millennium is an excellent magazine. We think it's undervalued right now,
which is good business for us.
Well, there's another reason. I don't like bullies.
REPORTER: Are you referring to Mr. Wennerström?
I'm referring to anyone who tries to sue his enemies into submission.
If Herr Wennerström would like to try it again,
he will find himself fighting a company that can afford to fight back.
WENNERSTRÖM: I've always admired Henrik Vanger. He's a titan and a gentleman.
But he's also quite old now,
which may explain how he could be taken in by a convicted liar.
CLERK: Three-twenty.
[♪♪♪]
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Shit.
[♪♪♪]
[SIGHS]
WOMAN: The current archive is on CDs.
The older stuff, still negatives.
What general period are you interested in?
September, 1966.
Thank you.
Is this about Harriet Vanger?
You're too young to know about that.
EDITOR: Everyone here grows up knowing about her.
It's how we're taught about strangers.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Lisbeth. I need to pay my rent.
I need some money.
Oh, come on in.
I feel a bit badly how we left it last time.
Me too.
[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]
[GRUNTS]
[♪♪♪]
[DRILL WHIRRING]
[GRUNTING]
Good. You're alive.
You recognize this? I had it with me last time. I set it here, remember?
And this snap, you see it? It's not a snap.
It's a wide-angle fiber-optics lens.
[LISBETH SCREAMING ON TV]
[WHIMPERING]
I thought it was going to be another blow job,
which is disgusting enough.
But I misjudged just how sick you are.
[WHIMPERING]
Okay. Here's what's going to happen.
[GRUNTING]
[SCREAMING]
Pay attention.
Look at me.
Once you can sit again,
which could be a while, I admit, we're going to go to my bank
and tell them that I alone have access to my money.
Nod. After that you will never contact me again.
Each month you will prepare a report of a meeting we will never have.
In it, you'll describe how well I'm doing.
How "sociable" I'm becoming. Then you will negotiate with the court
to have my declaration of incompetence lifted.
If you fail, this video will spread across the internet like a virus.
Nod.
[WHIMPERS]
And if anything should happen to me, if I get run over by a car,
if you run me over with a car, this will upload automatically.
Nod that you understand.
Ooh. Gabardine.
I'm taking the keys to this apartment because I'll be checking on you.
If I find a girl in here with you, whether she came of her own free will or not...
No, not the video.
[SCREAMING]
I'll kill you.
Do you doubt anything I've said?
Do you doubt what's in the reports that have followed me around all my life?
What do they say? If you had to sum it up.
They say I'm insane.
[WHIMPERING]
No, it's okay, you can nod because it's true.
I am insane.
Nod!
[WHIMPERING]
I know it's going to be hard for you to abide by my rules.
The abstinence part most of all.
[♪♪♪]
So I'm going to make it easier for you.
[MACHINE HUMMING]
[GRUNTS]
Lie still.
I've never done this before.
And there will be blood.
[BUZZING]
[BJURMAN SCREAMING]
[CAT MEOWS]
Hi. Hi.
What are you doing here?
On my way to Skellefteå. I can only stay a couple of hours.
What's in Skellefteå?
Bible camp.
Oh, yeah.
I'm not dangerous.
It's fine, Nilla. Whatever you want to do is fine.
Everybody needs something.
Just as long as it's not God.
I didn't say that.
I haven't been around enough to really know what's going on with you.
And I apologize for that. But I'd never want you not to tell me something
because you think I might not want to hear it.
That's what I'm doing.
MIKAEL: It should've been me visiting you.
I'm sorry. It's okay.
It was nice seeing you.
Bye-bye.
I'll see you. Yeah.
Thanks.
Oh, don't go too hard on the Catholics.
The what? The article you're writing.
Oh, I'm not writing an article about Catholics.
The Bible quotes by your desk.
[MOUTHS] I love you.
[♪♪♪]
HARRIET: A woman who is a medium or a sorcerer
shall be put to death by stoning.
If a dove is the sinner's offering,
the priest shall wring off its head, cleave its wings,
and burn it upon the altar.
[LINE RINGS]
MORELL [OVER PHONE]: Hello? Detective Morell, it's Mikael Blomkvist.
Yes, hello. How are you?
Not still freezing in Hedestad, I hope, for your sake.
You know that Rebecka case you mentioned.
Would you recall her last name?
Of course I do. But what has that to do with anything?
Nothing, probably. Jacobsson. Rebecka Jacobsson.
And how was she killed?
She was decapitated.
Her arms were cut off and she was burned.
But all that happened in the 1940s.
[SIREN WAILING]
What have you found? I have to call you back.
Why...?
[SIREN WAILING]
Is it Henrik? Yeah, we were talking.
He rubbed his arm, then he collapsed.
Think he's gonna be okay? I honestly don't know.
You go. Talk to you later. I'm sorry.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Evening.
So how is he?
Well, the good news is he survived.
How he does now, we'll have to see.
He's in intensive care. Right.
Oh, uh...
May I have one of those? You want a sandwich?
Small Scotch. Uh, sure.
Thank you.
Um, I hate to be indelicate, but Henrik promised me something
when I agreed to do this. Yeah, Wennerström.
I need to know what he has on him. Now. In case, um...
In case he dies?
Well, that is indelicate. And I apologize.
I don't know what he has on him, if you're asking me.
And he can't tell you in the condition he's in, so...
We also didn't discuss who I'd report to if something should happen to him.
Oh, well, you'd report to me, of course.
But we both know that nothing's going to come of this, don't we?
No. No, we don't know that. What do you mean?
I may have found something. You're joking.
What have you found?
The last time I reported on something without being absolutely sure,
I lost my life savings.
I need a research assistant. Can you authorize that?
Yes. Do you have one in mind?
I can find someone. I know an excellent one.
She did the background check on you.
The what?
Well, you don't think we can hire just anyone
without doing a background check.
I want to read that.
Herr Frode was kind enough to share your report with me.
The investigator's name. That is her name, yes?
See, I can't find any record of her, and I'm pretty good at that.
Would it matter what her name is? If I wanted to speak to her, yes.
It's against policy. You sure?
Just like your sources. You understand.
Okay. Ahem.
Here's a name for you.
My sister.
She's also my lawyer.
She'll be contacting you.
There are things in here that can only have come from one place.
The reason you can find no record of her is because her records are sealed.
She's a ward of the state. What's that gotta do with anything?
She's had a rough life.
Can we please not make it any rougher?
[SHENA'S "ELECTROSEXUAL" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
[VEHICLE PASSES IN DISTANCE]
[SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE]
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Who is it?
It's Mikael Blomkvist.
Actually, I'm not really up yet. May I come in?
Please?
Hi. You and I need to talk. I've got us some breakf...
I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had some company.
Who do you think you are?
I'm the guy you know better than my closest friends do.
Why don't you put some clothes on, get rid of your girlfriend.
We need to talk.
I'm sorry, you have to go.
Okay.
Do you need me to stay?
No.
[DOOR OPENS]
MIKAEL: Bye. Bye.
Sorry. It's okay.
I guess I must have alarmed you, turning up like that.
If you touch me, I'll more than alarm you.
That won't be necessary.
Your report, very detailed.
But for me, it wasn't very entertaining. It wasn't meant to be.
When I write about people, I try to entertain the reader.
Wennerström wasn't entertained much.
Uh, your boss, Armansky,
yeah, he tells me you only do jobs that interest you,
so I suppose I should be flattered.
You gonna sit down?
He also says that you're the one he goes to when the job is, um, sensitive.
That's the word he used, "sensitive." I'm gonna use "illegal,"
because that's what it was when you hacked into my computer.
No, I'm not gonna do anything about that. I could, but I won't.
What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna tell you a story,
and if it entertains you, maybe you'll decide to help me research further.
And if not, I'll do the washing up and you'll never see me again.
Here, you should eat that.
What kind of research?
Lisbeth... Oh, can I call you Lisbeth?
I want you to help me catch a killer of women.
I've got R.J. Rebecka Jacobsson. I've got absolutely no idea
who the rest of these are or how they're connected
to the death of a 16-year-old girl, but they must be somehow.
What we've gotta do is find out who they are, what happened to them,