Retro: Insomnia

With all the excitement for Inception building, I thought I'd take a look at Christopher Nolan's remake of Insomnia in 2002.


Detective Will Dormer can’t get any sleep. Is it his conscience, or just the midnight sun?
Al Pacino stars as the famed Los Angeles detective Dormer in the thriller Insomnia. Director Christopher Nolan, who scored with last summer’s independent smash hit, Memento, takes a Norweigan thriller from 1997 and places it instead in a remote Alaskan village.
Dormer and his partner Hap (Martin Donovan) arrive in the small town of Nightmute, Alaska, to investigate the murder of a teenage girl. The two are happy to get out of Los Angeles, where they are the subject of internal investigations. Detective Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), a huge fan of Dormer’s, guides them on their search throughout the Alaskan inlets.
Hap and Dormer put aside their investigative disagreements enough to concentrate on the murder case. After discovering a key piece of evidence, Dormer develops a trap that will nab the killer. Unfortunately, the trap fails when the killer escapes into a thick fog. Dormer and Hap go after him, but Dormer accidentally shoots and kills Hap. Aware of the tarnished image he already has back at home, Dormer immediately covers it up and blames the shooting on the escaped killer.
Dormer spends the rest of the film in agony over his mistake. The constant sunlight eats away at his sleep, leaving him more and more confused. He feels awful for shooting Hap, but keeps to his story.
The killer, however, knows what really happened. He blackmails Dormer, trying to set something up where they can both get away. He wants to blame it on the victim’s loser boyfriend (Jonathan Jackson), who admits to beating the girl. Dormer jumps at the chance to find the killer’s identity. Surprise! It’s Robin Williams, in a stunning departure from his usual comedic roles. Williams is cool and chillingly calculative as Walter Finch, a local writer.
Finch and Dormer meet and discus their plans. Dormer wants to trick Finch into giving himself up with nothing on Dormer, but Finch is too smart for that. He plays Dormer’s game just as well as the detective does. Eventually, Dormer gets so caught up in playing this game that he misses details on the case. He also has to deal with Ellie, who heads up an investigation into Hap’s shooting. Dormer’s conscience tugs at him until he cannot tell what is real anymore.
Nolan captures the haunting glow of Alaska. From The Shining-esque opening shots to violent montages of the killing, Nolan portrays the emotions felt beautifully. His flashy sequences effectively show the increasing mental instability of Dormer, and he weaves the narrative to an exciting finish.
Pacino, after a string of several mixed performances, finally adds another strong role to his thick resumé. He expresses the self-doubt and increasing fatigue of Dormer extremely well. Swank performs ably as a detective who is initially star-struck, but eventually learns from Dormer and even uses his own advice against him. The supporting cast is strong, with Donovan, Jackson, Maura Tierney, and Nicky Katt making good use of their time. The real acting treat, however, comes with Williams. This is a role he hasn’t touched before, and he’s surprisingly creepy. If audiences can handle Peter Pan or Mrs. Doubtfire as a murderer, they can truly appreciate a thrilling detective story.