THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is a US adaptation of the Swedish novel about a journalist and a computer hacker who join forces to investigate the dark secrets of a powerful family. The film was classified '18' for strong sex and sexual violence.

The BBFC's Guidelines at '15' state 'Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is [...] unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification'. While the portrayal of sexual violence does have a strong contextual justification, in that the assault motivates the hacker character's later acts of revenge, the portrayal is not discreet. In one sequence we see her being handcuffed to a bed and forcibly stripped before it is implied that she is anally raped. In a later sequence the character takes her revenge in a scene where she subjects her attacker to a comparable physical ordeal. While there is limited visual detail it remains clear to the audience what is happening and the lack of discretion cannot be accommodated under Guidelines at '15'.

The film also contains strong consensual sex, with one scene in particular featuring full nudity and sexual movement. The Guidelines at '15' state 'Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail'. In this case, while the scene contains no explicit detail, the portrayal is too strong for '15'.

Strong violence, verbal sex references and strong language also feature.