Forgiveness

With "Forgiveness" finally comes the conclusion of the great "Millennium" trilogy based on the bestsellers by Stieg Larsson in our cinemas. Directly following the events from "Damnation" it is mandatory to have seen the two predecessors to enjoy the third part. Otherwise, you will leave the cinema quite confused. If you want to see parts 1 and 2 on DVD first before going to the cinema, you should stop reading here for now.

However, those who have seen "Damnation" will remember: Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) barely survived the confrontation with her father Alexander Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov) and her half-brother Ronald Niedermann (Mikael Spreitz). Now she must recover from her injuries so that she can then be put on trial. After all, Lisbeth is accused of murdering her guardian Niels Bjurman and two journalists. Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), however, is certain: Lisbeth is innocent. His investigation leads him into Lisbeth's dark past and ultimately puts him on the trail of a large-scale conspiracy, which also puts his life in real danger...

"Forgiveness" is a tense mix of courtroom drama, conspiracy thriller and revenge thriller. Like its two predecessors, it is once again the great performances of Noomi Rapace in particular, but also Michael Nyqvist, in the concluding installment that elevate this thriller far above the usual level. It is true that "Forgiveness", like "Damnation" before it, feels like a very good TV production and less like a great feature film. But the first-class actors and the exciting production are justification enough to also watch the successful conclusion of the trilogy in the cinema.

During the rather complex story is rounded and more than satisfactorily brought to a close, all loose ends that especially part 2 left behind are tied to a coherent whole. Admittedly, the film distances itself in places even more than its predecessors from the great book template. But since books and movies should be judged separately anyway, this truly can't be judged negatively. As the last part of the film trilogy, the film works flawlessly.

"forgiveness" shows again that the Swedish thriller trilogy does not have to hide behind American major productions. On the contrary, the scenes of Lisbeth Salander's trial alone could take a leaf out of many a Hollywood courtroom thriller's book in terms of suspense and intensity.

The fact that the character of Lisbeth Salander leaves such a strong impression is certainly not only due to the great way she has been drawn by the screenwriters based on Stieg Larsson's novels, but also - or perhaps even primarily - to Noomi Rapace's performance. Just how much this is the case will become clear at the latest when the planned US remake hits cinemas. Because any actress, no matter how good, will be up against Rapace - and that's going to be damn hard!

Whether as a novel or a film, Stieg Larsson's "Millennium trilogy" is a real asset to the thriller genre. And that is exactly why part 3 is again absolutely recommended for all lovers of upscale crime entertainment!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp