A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Insomnia (2002)

Date Viewed: 5/25/02

Details:

Al Pacino

Robin Williams

Hilary Swank

Director: Christopher Nolan

Original 1997 Norwegian screenplay written by: Nikolaj Frobenius & Erik Skjoldbjaerg

Score: +

The Review: A new entry from the director of Memento, but have no fear: it was transformed from a 1997 Norwegian film (i.e., it's someone else's idea), and it is essentially monochronic (i.e., its time is single threaded).

Pacino and his partner, although based in Los Angeles, are sent to Alaska to help solve the murder of a young girl; the politics of this reassignment provide both back-story and an secondary plot thread. His primary contact and amanuensis is Swank, a junior member of the squad working on her own for nearly the first time (paired with such an experienced mentor). As the plot thickens (along with the coastal fog), it leads to Williams as primary suspect. All this is happening in the summer hours above the Arctic Circle, meaning that the skies never darken -- Pacino's character has difficulty sleeping with such a bright night, leading to at least one meaning of the movie's title. While not a typical procedural mystery, it does have deliberate pacing (no, this is not the second meaning of the title), except for a few careening events that increase the pulse rate a wee bit (the log jam is particularly unnerving and scary).

All three leads are excellent, but Al Pacino is wonderful! The toll taken by continual sleep deprivation is written clearly on his face, and becomes deeper as time passes; the phrase "walking wounded" comes to mind. His train of thought becomes visibly affected, along with his state of mind and (in)ability to make rational decisions. Pacino is not your perfect detective, and he unravels in a fascinating manner. Always erratic, Robin Williams has been selecting decidedly villainous roles of late (see also Death to Smoochy), and much has been made of his cast "against type" in this movie. He's certainly an experienced actor, and carries off well being a complex "heavy," and his sense of irony and humor is not far from the surface. Hilary Swank is the movie's glue: she provides a point of view and a rational narrative thread, and over the course of this encounter she develops into an interesting and independent individual.

Shot mostly in British Columbia, with a cameo appearance by real Alaskan glaciers.

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