A comparison

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2002)

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS. I'm afraid I came to watch the sneak preview of Nolan's Insomnia at UNC Charlotte with two preconceived notions: a) that it couldn't be nearly as good as the Norwegian version, which I'd seen on television in England, and b) that because Nolan's a sort of anti-Hollywood, "maverick" director, I'd actually end up being surprised by how good it was anyway. As it turns out, (a) was true and (b) wasn't. Okay, so the story takes place in Alaska to make it possible to have "the midnight sun," so we can give the main character insomnia--but there wasn't any light! The cinematography was DARK! So, in the modern Hollywood fashion, if you have a movie about a serial killer (or any "dark" subject), you HAVE to film it dark. That was a shame, especially considering the fact that the Norwegian version actually did use really, really bright cinematography very well--it was film noir where light was the dramatic force, as one critic put it. Another problem with Nolan's version: the big American cowboy-movie shootout at the end. What's with that? Can't have a suspense thriller without tacking on a big round of the "let's-blow-each-other-away-with-big-semi-automatic-weapons" game at the end? Very disappointing. Also, because everyone had a gun, there was absolutely no element of tension from the fact that the protagonist accidentally shot his partner with one. In the original version, the protagonist (being a Swedish cop) is the only one carrying a gun (the Norwegian police don't carry guns), which gives us the twist that if only he hadn't brought his gun, his partner would've lived. Another problem: mumbling characters, especially Al Pacino. I think I could understand the Norwegian better! Another problem: did Christopher Nolan really have to make the protagonist such a squeaky-clean good guy? Sure, he framed a suspect who he was sure was guilty. Sure, he shoots his partner in the fog. But he's still very obviously the "good guy" and Walter Finch is the "bad guy." Finch plants the wild card in the boyfriend's house, and the detective has to valiantly try and go back to get it--quite unlike the original version, where the detective plants the weapon himself. Guess we should all just believe that guilt and insomnia never affect our reason or morals (which I thought was the point of the movie in the first place). And one final problem: the way the female detective finds the 9mm cartridge casing and then mulls over it for so long. That's not really a style problem, but it adds a lot of time onto the film and destroys anything subtle about the film, about her, about morals--just beating a dead horse, really. Anything good about this film? The premise was fine. Good story idea. The script wasn't bad, either, minus the elements I've already mentioned. I especially liked the joke where Finch says he tried to be a cop but they wouldn't take him and the detective replies, "Should've tried internal affairs; bet they would've taken you." In the entire, almost-full theatre, only my friend and I laughed at that one. And one last thing...when I watched the Norwegian version of Insomnia, I was scared. When I watched Nolan's version, I got scared, but for a different reason. Whenever something violent would happen, like the detective shooting his partner, or Finch punching the girl, the theatre around me would explode with laughter. And that frightened the **** out of me, to be living in a place where people see that kind of violence (and pain) on the screen and laugh.