Insomnia Review
by Eugene Novikov (eugenen AT wharton DOT upenn DOT edu)July 15th, 2002
Insomnia (2002)
Reviewed by Eugene Novikov
http://www.ultimate-movie.com/
"After about three days, things start happening..."
Starring Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, Robin Williams, Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Rated R.
Insomnia isn't much of a thriller in the conventional sense, but a slow, moody, careful character study, where the drama hinges not on chases or fistfights -- though there's a pivotal shootout -- but on whether or not a man will crumble under sudden pressure. The movie is meticulous much in the way director Christopher Nolan's Memento was, though it may not get noticed here because its exterior isn't as superficially "neat," though it ultimately doesn't have that film's emotional resonance either.
LAPD homicide detective Will Dormer ("dormer," by the way, means "sleep" in French) arrives at a sleepy Alaskan town with his partner Hap (Martin Donovan) to assist in a murder investigation, after an internal affairs inquiry into a Past Case begins to threaten their careers. Hap is ready to confess, plea bargaining with IA for his job while possibly costing Will his. The two argue, but have to put it aside to help local detective Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), a self-professed fan of Dormer's work, with the mysterious murder of a teenage girl.
They spot the killer back at the scene of the crime, but a chase through the fog ends in his escape, and in the ostensibly accidental fatal shooting of Hap by his partner. Before dying, Hap recoils from the terrified Dormer, convinced in his final moments that his shooting was a murder intended to silence him.
We feel at this point that the exhausted Dormer has weathered worse. Even as Ellie Burr probes into his assertion that Hap was shot by the escaped killer -- who later shows up as Robin Williams, complete with a blackmail scheme -- he remains an imposingly stoic, if haggard figure. And with the bright, chilly Alaskan sun peeking through the hotel windows 24/7, he ceases being able to sleep.
The movie's title is misleading; Dormer's insomnia is merely a plot point, not the focus. Mainly, Insomnia is concerned with a man whose morality has subtly degraded to the point where he doesn't even think twice about concealing the identity of the shooter, destroying and fabricating evidence and other such no-nos for policemen. Remarkably, we believe that this is a transformation despite never seeing Dormer in his original, presumably more idealistic state; Nolan is skilled, here as in Memento at creating a complete picture of a character with only a fraction of the puzzle pieces.
Pacino's performance here reminded me of his Donnie Brasco more than anything else: here is a man who's going through the motions, trying to save his career with the underlying knowledge that he doesn't like or want the little that remains to save. It's a compelling dilemma; far more compelling, in fact, than the rather pedestrian blackmail plot that eventually leads to his redemption.
Still, Nolan proves skilled both at subtle character manipulation and conventional thriller trappings. He elicits an otherworldly quality from his summertime Alaska setting; the contrived chase scene across floating logs, for example, becomes elusively creepy rather than aggressively stupid. And the idea of Robin Williams playing a sleazy, devious killer isn't nearly as absurd as it sounds; Williams himself is nothing extraordinary, but he still gives his best performance since What Dreams May Come.
Insomnia gets the pulse racing, but for none of the usual reasons. It's a quiet film, hardly a thrill a minute, but it has higher ambitions than most police procedurals: it wants to show us a man. And with the help of Pacino, it does.
Grade: B+
Up Next: The Believer
©2002 Eugene Novikov
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
