Review: Insomnia

It may not be the summer's happiest movie, but it might be the best (and there isn't a single marching digital Army, special effect, or marketing tie-in involved!). Hilary Swank and Robin Williams co-star in this dark tale of murder and redemption, but it's really Al Pacino's movie from beginning to end. And he was born to play the role of the exhausted, tough, morally confused LA homicide cop pursued by the do-gooders from Internal Affairs (IA), sent off to Alaska to help an old pal solve a vicious killing. The plot is a touch cheesy at moments, but the film is wonderfully acted, and beautifully shot. It's also dark, a great and timely movie. This isn't a take-your-mind-off-your-troubles summer flick. Neither is it a mega-epic. SPOILAGE WARNING: Plot discussed, not ending.

Far from home, subject to the endless sunlight of the Alaskan winter, Pacino (Detective Will Dormer) is drawn into a bleak, clever moral thriller. You have to pay careful attention to this movie, and even if you do, you'll end up doubting yourself, much as Pacino does. Against the backdrop of Spider-man and Clones and all the attendant hype, this is an almost refreshingly simple movie. It's all about acting and plot.

Pacino is up there because an old pal is running a tiny Alaskan police department, in over its collective head after a young girl is brutally and sadistically murdered. Pacino swaggers in, spotting all of the things the locals have missed, and is stunned and enraged to learn from his partner Martin Donovan (who plays LA Det. Hap Eckhart) that Hap is about to fess up to IA about various past wrongdoing, including Dormer's having planted fake evidence to catch a child-killer. This testimony will result in any number of killers going free, including the child-killer. It will also end Dormer's career.

Soon after, Hap is shot while the two are setting a trap for the local killer. This is really the heart of the movie -- a searing, twisting and turning moral agony for Dormer who, driven nearly mad by the insomnia he experiences in the long Alaskan day, tries, along with local police novice Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank) to understand what has happened, and what ought to be done about it. The fact that it isn't clear -- to him or to us -- what happened to Hap -- gives the movie a taut, gripping edge. Pacino has a tendency to overplay roles sometimes -- as in Heat -- but here, he is at perfect pitch. It's a knockout performance.

Christopher Nolan also does an amazing job of using Alaska as a backdrop from the opening scene, almost as a character. There is one stunning shot after another, putting the story into a particular context. Taking an embittered, wise-ass LA cop and putting him in this misty, eerie setting is a masterstroke, and Nolan makes the most of it. Day by day, Pacino becomes more disoriented fatigued and confused. He also is taunted by Walter Finch, the chief suspect in the local killing, and a creepy psycho who tries to blackmail Dormer into dropping the investigation, or steering it in another direction. Finch claims to have evidence against Dormer regarding Hap's shooting, and the two of them begin a cat-and-mouse game you know can't have a happy outcome.

Williams's doesn't seem to quite pull this off. He isn't creepy enough here -- think John Malkovich or Jeremy Irons. He doesn't get under your skin quite the way he ought to. But that's the only significant flaw in the summer's best thriller by far -- also a refreshing change of pace from the mega-movies and their marketing tie-ins. This is a psychological drama, a portrait beautifully rendered by a master actor. There isn't an explosion, thundering army, or special affect in it. Just a dark, powerful story about life, reality and hard choices, along with some amazing acting, and some of the best cinematography you'll see in a while.

Comments

Canada!

[FigBugDeux]

That wasn't alaska! that was port alberni!!!

See the original film.

[Konge]

If you like this film, please go see the original film which this is based on. http://us.imdb.com/Title?0119375 [Imdb]. A much better film.

Re:See the original film.

[G-Man]

While "original" is undisputed, "much better" is up for debate. Christopher Nolan after all directed Memento -- something Katz neglects to mention -- so he is not your average Hollywood hack.

Just for comparison, Ebert gave both films 3.5 stars, and in his Sun-Times review about the new film he says

"Insomnia," the first film directed by Christopher Nolan since his famous "Memento" (2001), is a remake of a Norwegian film of the same name, made in 1998 by Erik Skjoldbjaerg. That was a strong, atmospheric, dread-heavy film, and so is this one. Unlike most remakes, the Nolan "Insomnia" is not a pale retread, but a re-examination of the material, like a new production of a good play.

Original script from Norway

[Zestius]

Insomnia is actually a remake of the Norwegian movie with the same name. It's set in the northern part of Norway, where the sun always shines. It was a good movie then, and I really hope they managed to capture the same feel in this edition. The Norwegian homepage for Insomnia can be found here (I didn't find an English version).

The fact that it isn't clear...(a little spoilage)

[stew]

DamnKatz said:
This is really the heart of the movie -- a searing, twisting and turning moral agony for Dormer who, driven nearly mad by the insomnia he experiences in the long Alaskan day, tries, along with local police novice Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank) to understand what has happened, and what ought to be done about it. The fact that it isn't clear -- to him or to us -- what happened to Hap -- gives the movie a taut, gripping edge.

It is incredibly clear and a very important part of the movie that Dormer DID shoot Hap. Any doubt as to whether Dormer shot Hap makes the second half of the film make no sense at all. This is NOT what gives the movie a taut, gripping edge. The fact that it IS clear and it is used against Dormer is what gives it a taut, gripping edge.

Does Katz see these movies and then do a write-up on the drive home so he doesn't take away from his pr0n time at his desk? Glaring mistake Jon...

It was a good movie tho... 3 out of 4

For a second opinion....

[Ian_Bailey]

Why don't you read Robert Ebert's review. He thought Robin Williams was rather good, and made much of the same points mentioned above. "3.5 stars"

I saw this last week.

[evilpaul13]

I thought it was excellent as well. And it really does show you that two hundred million dollars worth of CG isn't necessary to make a good movie. I highly recommend it.

A word of caution: If you go see this, it will make you want to go see Alaska because the place looks so beautiful =)

Endless Sunlight in Winter?

[EQ]

Far from home, subject to the endless sunlight of the Alaskan winter

I think its SUMMER when the globe tilts that way.

Re:Endless Sunlight in Winter?

[burnitall]

erm, the other thing to point out it that, although the film is set in Alaska, it was actually mostly filmed in squamish and port alberni near vancouver, bc, canada. a friend of mine was production assistant up here, and the budget btw was something north of $80 million USD. i think a lot of that was salaries though. so altho Katz' point about CG is partly true, insomnia was certainly not low-budget...

i think the only alaskan footage is the (admittedly spectacular) glacier footage at the beginning...

Re:Shhhh...

[abigor]

Part of it was also filmed in a town called Stewart, in northern B.C.

And it is important to the plot. The movie is a remake of a Norwegian movie also called Insomnia, where a Swedish detective goes to Norway to solve a murder. By setting the whole thing in America, with American characters, part of the nature of the original -- dislocation, being a foreigner, etc. -- was lost.