The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (original title in Swedish: Män som hatar kvinnor – literally, Men who hate women) is a crime novel by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. It has been described as a frostbitten, dispassionate thriller. It's a thriller, mystery and crime fiction. Above is the opening sequence of the film.
By looking at the opening sequence we can come to the conclusion that the film is about violent attacks and abuse, and also that it's about being held against your will. We get the idea that it's about being immoral and making people suffer. As well as this we see elements of a battle or fight between the two figures in the scene which tells us there could be some kind of chase if the submissive escapes or a plan for revenge later on in the film.
In the opening sequence you hear lot's of music and no dialogue, the music supposedly does the talking for the people-like figures in the scene. The music sounds a lot like 'Screamo' music because there is lot's of screaming, and isn't mainstream music. This suggests that the film is a little different to your typical thriller and makes it mysterious, and so this makes the audience want to know more. As well as this the voice you can hear sounds like a female screaming or moaning in pain. This could foreshadow the upcoming events in the film, for example the painful moans and screams could represent sexual pain/abuse such as rape. Also as the music is constantly very fast and loud, you could suggest that it has a purpose, and this purpose could be to prevent other people from hearing the screams. However the screams are so loud that we can still hear them above the music, this tells us the screams are not actually part of the soundtrack, but the sound is used as a device to cover up or hide a secret. This is known as synchronous sound. This affects the audience by making them feel uncomfortable, but leaving them in anticipation as they want to find out what happened. The music is the 'theme music' it introduces the film to us and gives us an insight to what we're in for. It indicates the mode of the film and the personality of the character(s), giving us the impression they may be twisted and not what we perceive as 'normal'.
At the beginning of the opening sequence there are many flashing images which fade out used to show different images at a fast pace, so the action instantly starts from the beginning and kicks off the mode of the film. It automatically makes the audience feel excited to watch it as it grasps their attention quickly and keeps throughout the opening scene by using different editing skills such as cuts. Also the fades and flashing images match the beat of the music, giving it a more dramatic effect and helping the audience keep up with the action, this also keeps them entertained. Also in the opening scene there are many fast cuts used to speed up the action making it more exhilarating to watch and preparing the audience for the upcoming action. The fast cuts confuse the audience as they show a large variety of different images in a small amount of time which keeps them guessing. They get the audience trying to piece together the story by looking at the images as soon as the film starts which lures them in to carry on watching the whole film as it challenges them. As well as this the cuts help to create and maintain the logic of the story. The whole sequence of images at the beginning of this film is called a montage. This is a series of shots that are connected together to create meaning, they intensify emotions through the collection of images. For example the close ups on the eye and the water coming out of the mouth signifies drowning and suffering.
There is a wide range of different shots used during the opening sequence. A lot of the shots that are used are close up shots, this is because there is a lot of detail to pay attention to in the images that are shown. The close ups are used to ensure that the audience pay close attention to an image and make it stand out, because it will be relevant later on in the movie and also will help them to understand the concept and story line of the film. For example, there are many close up shots of eyes which have stuff coming out of them, this is because that is what the director wants us to see. This is done to suggest that the film is about someone who witnessed something horrible them self or had a bad experience who is scarred with the memory of it. These images help us to build an understanding of the film and help us to come up with our own interpretation of it. An aerial shot is used to show the person who is tied up and struggling in the water. This is one of few aerial shots used and so has a lot of significance to the rest of the film. The director done this to ensure that the audience notice what's going on in the scene, and also to confuse them as they don't know if the person is a man or woman. Purposely not revealing the gender adds an element of secrecy to the film which really intrigues the audience. This helps tell the plot of the story and keeps the audience involved as it shocks them, but still keeps them on the edge of their seats. The aerial shot gives the whole picture of someone who is unwillingly being tortured or hurt, this is shown by the ropes and body language of the character which the director wanted us to recognise. A reverse shot is used to show the relationship that the rose blooming and the hands ensconcing the face have. This is done to show us that they are connected and makes the rose an important part of the film. As the rose blooms freely in the open the character gets violently pulled away. This represents conflict between freedom and being trapped, the director does this using fast cuts to highlight the relevance of the rose and makes the 2 completely different images look alike to make it stand out and impress the audience leaving them wondering what he's trying to tell them.
The whole sequence is left to be black and white which are contrasting colours, this could be done to show us the personality clash between the two character figures we see, black to symbolise being bad and the antagonist, and white to resemble being innocent, pure and maybe a protagonist. Black and white is the colour scheme until around half way through the scene when we're introduced to the orange flames, and with this we see the wings and the dragon. This matches the title and so we can use this to help figure out who 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is. From the flames we could get the idea of there being a revolution, a burning of the past, and the light could be leading her out of the darkness, but you can tell its going to be a dangerous, but passionate battle possibly rising up to defeat the person who tied 'the girl' up, and fight for her freedom. Also the flame could represent being angry and wanting to scold someone who hurt her badly too. The flame and the water contrast, they are each others enemy which resembles the 2 characters. The woman being the flame as the water can put out the flame, showing that even though its unlikely she still has hope regardless of how much power the water has over her or how little the chances of freedom are. The fire could also be used to symbolise a burning desire and obsession that someone has over the girl. The fire is ambiguous and so leaves the audience wondering if 'the girl' will survive.
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