The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Adren Oplev, 2009) is based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. The plot revolves around a female hacker, Lisbeth Salander and a wrongly accused journalist, Mikael Blomkvist who find themselves solving a case centred around a young girl's disappearance 40 years ago. 

In the film, there is a strong Swedish attitude towards woman and the way they are perceived. The character Lisbeth Salander, played by Noomi Rapace, highlights female empowerment and throughout the film there are reminders of how empowering she is.

The Revenge Scene:

After the horrific previous encounter Lisbeth has with her 'guardian' Nils Bjurman, she goes back to his house to seek revenge and show him that he will not get away with what he has done. 

The lighting that has been used is low key to highlight the dark happenings that take place and have done previously. The main focus of the lighting pinpoints a very vulnerable Bjurman and the basically furnished room. By pronouncing the furniture with the subtle lighting, it emphasizes the decor is more about function not 'fashion'.
The costume that has been used accentuates the characters and their situation within the scene. For example, the lack of clothing used for Bjurman shows how defenseless and vulnerable he is and by him being tied up for the duration of the scene also shows how feeble his character is at that moment in time. Salander's costume is dark and masculine with her trousers and boots giving her a sense of authority and power.
The camera angles used emphasize the control that Salander has. The low angle shots used to show Bjurman's point of view looking up at Salander show how defenceless he is, especially after he has been tied up and taped at the mouth. The high angle shots show Salander's power and allow the vulnerability of Bjurman to really be shown as it really enables the audience to see him curled up on the floor trying to get away form her.
The narrative during this scene overturns the underlying attitudes towards women in Sweden by empowering women over men and giving them all of the power.

The Car Crash Scene:

Once Lisbeth Salander saves Mikael Blomkvist from the deceptive and cruel hands of Martin Vanger and his cellar, Vanger runs off in his car followed by Salander who trys to stop him. Vanger veers off the road and crashes his car. As Salander watches Vanger trapped inside his overturned car, she has the chance to save him but instead, watches the car burst into flames and walks away.
The low key lighting makes the scene very dramatic and is highlighted by the shadow cast on their faces which adds to the darkness of the scene.
The clothing worn by Salander is all black which corresponds with her character and persona and hence shows her masculinity and contradicting societal norms that is shown throughout the film.
The set of the secluded forest emphasizes how alone the two characters are and the fact that there is no-one around to save Vanger from the wreckage of his car.
Some of the camera angles in this scene are interesting as Vanger's point of view is used when he is calling for help from Salander showing just her feet from the window of the overturned car. This angle is highly effective and enables Salander's power over whether or not Vanger is rescued from the wreckage.
Editing adds suspense and tension during this scene to cut from a stuck Vanger in his car, to his leaking fuel tank, and then back to Vanger. This allows the audience to pre-asses what is about to happen and build themselves up for the dramatic catching alight of Vanger's car with him trapped inside. Editing is also used in this scene to cut back to a flashback of Salander's of when she was a child and her throwing a flaming match onto a fuel covered man inside his car. This adds depth and interest to the scene and makes the audience think about Salander's past and what happened to her as a child.
In this scene, the fact that Salander does nothing to help Vanger signifies the theme of female empowerment by her having all the control of whether Vanger survives or is left to his own devices trapped inside the wreckage of his car. His fate essentially rests in her hands.