Insomnia Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)May 21st, 2002
"Insomnia"
Veteran LA detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are shipped, on loan, to the Nightmute, Alaska police department to help the local cops investigate the brutal murder of a 17-year old girl. Will hatches a plan to trap the killer, but an unfortunate mistake by one of the local officers forces a chase after the perp through thick fog. Dormer gets the drop on the guy and fires at the shadowy, fleeing figure. But, it isn't the bad guy he shoots, it's his partner in the American remake of Norwegian thriller in "Insomnia."
The interpretation, by novice scribe Hillary Seitz, of the original 1997 screenplay by Nicolaj Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjaerg of the same named flick starring Stellan Skarsgard contains some subtle tongue in cheek touches that may not be obvious immediately. Detective Dormer, on the case in the land of the unending summer day, suffers from severe insomnia for the days. (It wasn't until the next day that I remembered that the French word dormir means to sleep. You don't see this kind of attention to detail and humor in your average Hollywood script.) The change to an Alaska locale and the reason why LA cops would investigate a murder way up north are not a problem, especially with such talents as Pacino and Robin Williams as the object of Will's pursuit, Walter Finch.
Pacino and Williams are the keys to "Insomnia." Pacino is a great actor and is able to convey the steadily increasing haggardness his character feels as he goes for days without sleep. You can feel the edginess and the sand-in-the-eyes feeling of the exhausted cop as he tries to cope with the constant, unrelenting daylight, sleeplessness and guilt over killing his partner.
Williams continues to pull away from the schmarmy characters he has played in the recent past (think of the gagging treacle of "Patch Adams" and the rank sentimentality of "Bicentennial Man). With his perf in "Death to Smooch" (one of the few good things about that movie) the actor shifted over to the dark side and appears to be on a roll with the latter film, "Insomnia" and the up and coming "One Hour Photo." It's a little strange, almost spooky, watching the man that personified goofy comedy improv and impersonation perform in edgy dramatic roles that are totally out of his normal comedy characters.
Academy Award winner Hillary Swank has not lived up to the reputation that the Oscar conveyed on her as Best Actress ("Boys Don't Cry"). She was outclassed by everyone else in "The Affair of the Necklace" and comes across poorly opposite Pacino. She is supposed to be an idolizing young cop who puts the veteran Dormer on a pedestal, but acts more like a little kid than a cop. The sidebar story of her investigation of Hap's death is necessary but feels tacked on. Swank doesn't have a lot to do, here, and doesn't do anything with it.
Maura Tierney in a tiny role as the innkeeper of the small town is totally effective in a small perf opposite Pacino. Her presence is so prominent in her brief scenes that I wonder what was left on the cutting room floor. I think the actress should have been cast as Swank's character. She could well have given a superior performance. Tierney is under appreciated as an actor, in my opinion.
Techs are fine across the board, especially camera work by Wally Pfister ("Memento"). The film looks great and scenes such as the chase in the fog or across a log-choked river are exciting and different from the routine stuff we normally get from a Hollywood thriller. The exterior shots are outstanding, especially the opening as Will and Hap fly over the snow covered mountains on their way to the investigation.
Helmer Christopher Nolan, on the heels of his tremendously successful indie hit, "Memento," goes mainstream, but his skilled eye and storytelling ability make this a good film in its own right, not just a poor American remake of a better foreign film. I give it a B.
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