It’s hard to have a long dark night of the soul when stuck in a place where the sun never sets. But Detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) sure as hell is going to try. Trying to solve a murder in Alaska while struggling with his own sins as an officer of the law, Dormer can’t sleep. Though he may be exhausted and fumbling, you won’t be, as Insomnia proves to be the most riveting movie for grown-ups so far this year.
Dormer leaves behind an Internal Affairs investigation in Los Angeles. I.A. has been breathing down his neck, and his partner Hap (Martin Donovan) is about to make a deal. Called in to the ironically sleepy little town of Nightmute by old friend Chief Charles Nyback (Paul Dooley), the two detectives have to figure out who beat a popular high school girl to death. With Dormer feeling betrayed by Hap, it isn’t going to be easy.
Assisting them in the investigation is the slightly too perky Officer Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), who worships Dormer and studied every case he ever worked. She quotes him on crimefighting as if he were scripture. At first, it amuses Dormer, but as the two end up working at odds, the quotations become little knives.
In pursuing the killer through the fog, you see, Dormer ends up accidentally shooting his partner. At least, Dormer believes it’s an accident, but Hap doesn’t, accusing him before dying. Luckily for Dormer, the killer Walter Finch (Robin Williams) dropped his gun on the beach, so the veteran detective can frame him for the shooting. Unluckily, the killer also witnessed it.
And so begins a game of cat and cat and mouse among the killer, the detective, and the rookie. Insomnia is not a whodunit, as it’s obvious to audiences that the killer is Williams. Instead, it’s a tense psychological thriller. Finch feels a kinship to Dormer, and believes the two of them can collude and cover up each other’s crime. Guilt gnaws away at Dormer, who may just agree that his reputation is worth more than this murder. Yet he encourages Burr to make sure that her police report on Hap’s shooting is thorough and accurate. She thinks it’s scut work, intended to get the woman out of the way, but she holds the key to the whole case.
Director Christopher Nolan (last year’s Memento) keeps a sure hand, and avoids most of the tricks from his earlier work. Re-making a Norwegian thriller, Nolan recasts it as a modern-day Hitchcock film without paying obvious homage (the plot owes a little debt to Strangers On A Train. Sort of.) Mostly, it just has that elusive Hitchcock vibe.
The only nod back to his Memento work is sudden flashbacks to the killings. We get quick cuts to the beating that help give the lie to Finch’s case that what he did was justified. But the more Dormer’s actions prey upon his own mind, the more indistinct the flashbacks become, until the viewer, like Dormer, isn’t even sure whether or not he killed his partner on purpose – and initially, it looks like an accident.
All of it is wrapped in shades of grey, perfect for the moral stance of the two main characters, caught in a twilight of their own making. Very little violence actually happens onscreen (despite the commercials); instead, it’s all happening in their souls. Such a thriller offers the temptation to overact, but everybody restrains themselves admirably. In fact, this is the only movie I’ve seen this year chock full of Oscar-winning actors that all really seem worth the honor.
During the 1990’s, Pacino became a tremendously entertaining scene-chewer, but here returns to the form that made him great in the first place. His Dormer struggles to stay easy-going, charming, and direct, but exhaustion and guilt weigh him down quietly. This is by far the most real and moving performance he has given in years.
Matching Pacino, Williams may very well have sewn up his next Oscar nomination. Rather than tap into his manic side for this psychopath, Williams underplays the role, avoiding even the righteous indignation that most of his dramatic characters have. Finch is a boring little man who one day crossed the line and found it surprisingly easy. This doesn’t make him more interesting as a human being; he’s just a boring guy who happens to be a killer. Williams gives a fascinating performance that underscores the banality of evil. It will prove a shock to audiences that clever murderers don’t always arch their eyebrows and speak with British accents.
As the overeager Burr, Swank completely makes up for the mistake of The Affair of the Necklace. Heck, we can even forget The Next Karate Kid. No light bulbs go off as Burr achieves revelations; just as with her bigger name co-stars, nothing about the character feels unreal.
Supposedly the Norwegian version of this film has a sleazier, kinkier feel to it. It might be worth checking out, but it’s hard to see how it could be much better. If Hollywood has a few more films like Insomnia waiting for us this summer, we may be in for a smarter season than anyone anticipated.
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