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diversions
'Insomnia'
keeps audiences awake
By Greg Smith
On-line Forty-Niner
What happens when
you bring together three Academy Award winners with one of
the hottest new directors in film? You get one of the best
films to come out this year.
"Insomnia," the latest film from "Memento"
director Christopher Nolan, is an ambitious look at the psychological
depths of murder and the result of a horrific accident. "Insomnia"
is disguised as a standard detective thriller but is really
an examination of two men's psyches, two men who kill but
claim they did so accidentally.
Al Pacino plays Los Angeles homicide detective Will Dormer
who, with his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), travel
to Alaska to help an old friend investigate the brutal murder
of a 17-year-old girl. The pair are investigated by internal
affairs in Los Angeles and sent more to lessen the heat than
to assist in the investigation.
Dormer and Hap arrive in Alaska during when the sun is out
24 hours a day, something that Dormer has trouble adjusting
to.
Dormer devises a plan to catch the killer by putting out radio
and television reports saying that police are looking for
the dead girl's backpack, which they already found.
During an ensuing fog-shrouded stakeout and chase, Dormer
mistakes his partner for the killer and shoots Hap.
The rest of the film has Dormer staying one step ahead of
local police in the search for the killer, a pulp-detective
author named Walter Finch, played perfectly by Robin Williams.
Finch, who saw Dormer kill his partner, blackmails Dormer
into helping him frame the dead girl's boyfriend.
Dormer becomes more erratic and bedraggled over the following
six days as he goes without sleep, struggling to retain his
sanity and do the right thing.
The heart of "Insomnia" is Pacino's brilliant portrayal
of Dormer. He is not only searching for the killer but searches
for his own reasoning as well, slowly becoming more and more
disjointed by sleep deprivation while trying to decide if
his partner's death was really accidental. Dormer is
clearly not going to be able to handle the "midnight
sun" early on when he asks local police to pull the murdered
girl's boyfriend out of school for an interview, only to be
told that it's 10 p.m., with the sun shining bright.
Williams' portrayal of Finch is a revelation for the actor
who, of late, has been concentrating on family-friendly, heart-warming
roles. Williams plays as someone that anyone could be friends
with but below the surface is something maniacal. Finch sees
himself as a genius. He thinks that he knows exactly what
a killer and police are supposed to do simply because he writes
cheesy, dime-store detective novels.
Williams is subtle as Finch. His murderous instincts
are almost unnoticeable, seething just enough under the surface
of his friendly demeanor to create fear.
Hilary Swank is awesome yet again as young local detective
Ellie Burr who holds Dormer as her personal hero. She hangs
on his every word, eventually surpassing him not only in detective
skills but also in morality.
The fourth major character is the Alaskan setting itself.
Nolan used the beauty of the wilderness to create a sparse
pallet of cold, white ice juxtaposed against dark, thick wilderness.
The constant light taunts Dormer but also embraces him as
he tries in vain to sleep. The most thrilling sequences put
Dormer into the dark of fog and water, where if he could only
reach the light he would be out of trouble.
"Insomnia" is a brilliantly crafted film that is
fresh in the crime genre. At times, it falls back on the old
standards of a cat and mouse film but the psychological subtext
surpasses any similarities to other genre films. With brilliant
performances and beautiful cinematography, "Insomnia"
is a sure bet for a great movie-going experience.
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