It's rare to watch a crime drama that does not have its share of tired cliches woven into the plot. Insomnia, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, is no exception.
To list a few: an aging and jaded cop—Pacino's Will Dormer—haunted by a case from his past; a supposedly highly intelligent perpetrator of a gruesome crime who engages the lead investigator in a psychological duel, initiating the "game" via unexpected phone calls; a female police officer who decides to take it upon herself to head out alone to collect some evidence from a potentially dangerous suspect, thus setting up the climax.
Bolstered by a handful of Academy award nominations, I had high expectations for this film.
A murder has taken place in a small town in Alaska and the local hick investigators are having problems solving the crime. Called in to help from Los Angeles, Will Dormer along with his partner Hap Eckhart (played by Martin Donovan) have an internal affairs investigation hanging over their heads back in the City of Angels, with a likely deal to be cut by Eckhart meaning that Dormer's reputation will be ruined. The result is antagonism from Dormer towards his partner that is subordinated with an ostensible professionalism and desire to solve the case with which they were sent to help.
The legend Dormer quickly puts together a ploy to snag the killer (another cliche—an obvious lure that is fed to the media and which the killer quickly falls for) and the locals and the 2 LA detectives descend on the scene of the plant. It seems the school bag of the teenaged girl who has been murdered was already found. Let's replace the contents with rocks, put it back where we found it and let the media report that if we really find it we should be able to crack the case. A shadowy figure promptly appears as the cops look on from their hiding spots and Dormer mistakenly plugs his partner as they chase down the killer in the fog. The killer gets away and Dormer lets the assumption stand that the brutal murderer also topped his partner.
This is really no more than a 2nd rate crime flick with the added scthick being that Dormer is unable to sleep during his time in the fictional Alaskan town of Nightmute. Haunted by his past, what has just occurred and the 24 hours of daylight that is part of life during the summer months in the far north, Dormer starts to come unhinged.
Article comments
1 - Eric Berlin
Based upon your review, I'm surprised that you would recommend it to people at all (as you do at the end). I'm feel a bit ambivalent about this film, so therefore think it was just okay. I enjoyed the atmosphere, and the direction gave every scene an unsettling intensity. I agree in thinking that Pacino's performance was sleepy, but I enjoyed Williams, who is far better nowadays in dramatic roles (though his Creepy Guy worked better in One Hour Photo).
Overall, I expected much more Nolan after the masterful Memento. Insomnia was a passable movie, which in today's movie market is something, I suppose.
Great overall analysis.
Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash
http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com
2 - DJRadiohead
I actually enjoyed Pacino's performance in "Insomnia." Much less over-the-top than many of his other classic performances.
I thought the movie was slightly above average, but a far cry from great.