100 Finest Films - Insomnia

Insomnia – 2002, Christopher Nolan

‘Insomnia’ is yet another masterpiece from one of my favourite modern directors, Christopher Nolan. His third film, a remake of a Swedish thriller, is by a fraction his best. It is the finest murder mystery film ever made, and probably my favourite performance from two great actors, Al Pacino and Robin Williams. The film’s main original feature that sets it apart from the thousands of other crime thrillers is the setting. While Nolan traded Norway for Alaska, both places share the fact they are above the Arctic Circle. Above a certain point, at the height of summer, the sun doesn’t set for months. When I first found this out as a child, it fascinated me, and ‘Insomnia’ is the first film I’ve seen to use the concept, and even better it does so with a lot of skill. The events of the film happen without the sun ever setting; meaning when it’s late at night, the world is deserted, but looks just like a normal afternoon. Pacino plays Detective Dormer, a hero cop from L.A. facing an impending inquiry that threatens to put every case he’s ever solved into dispute. His partner is looking to cut a deal, much to Dormer’s protest. They both come to Alaska as a favour to an old friend, to lead the investigation into a young girl’s death. To divulge anymore would spoil the tightly written mystery, one that never slows down, but consistently simmers all the way to its climax. Dormer simply cannot sleep, and his insomnia takes hold over him as days go by, and the ways we see it affect him are most times subtle and don’t encroach on the mystery, but do add to Dormer’s character. Alaska is beautifully shot, Nolan captures the epic scale of the place, but also it’s isolation and desolateness. The lighting is kept bright, and this is used to great effect in a nice moment in Dormer’s hotel room. The music is brooding and moving, managing to capture Dormer’s increasing disconnection with the world and the pieces of the mystery falling into place. The supporting cast, lead by Hillary Swank, are all great, and Swank’s character is an interesting one, both learning from and competing with Dormer. I don’t like to spoil the who-done-it in who-done-its, so stop reading if you don’t want to know, but I cant review ‘Insomnia’ and not mention one of its best performances. Without knowing any killers myself, Robin Williams somehow seems to capture the essence of a real murderer. He is not insane, he is not pure evil. He is so hospitable we even like him. But the layers he has, as seen in a fantastic scene where, over the phone, he describes the murder, and we slowly hear just in the voice of Williams, that he really is a cold blooded killer despite his claims. Williams is at his most sinister, more so than ‘One Hour Photo’, because here he is disturbing through how real he seems. ‘Insomnia’ is the perfect detective story, it’s characters, setting, twists, and direction make it one of the best films ever made, one which stands up to repeated viewings unlike so many other mysteries, where when the story is solved, its done. There is so much more than twists on offer here, because the characters that drive the narrative are deep, interesting and real.

Best Moment: Detective Dormer looks up a suspect, but finds his apartment empty. On his return, the killer is one step ahead, and the resulting chase over floating logs is expertly handled. But the best moment of the film is our first shot of the killer, in the distance and vague, looking back across the water.