Mr. Method vs. Mr. Anything Goes

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2007)

Knowing that Al Pacino and Robin Williams co-star in Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia", we would probably expect Pacino to play an evil antagonist and Williams a wacky protagonist. But it's not like that. It's not the opposite, either. The description of the movie's plot needs to be a long one.
Pacino plays LA detective Will Dormer, under investigation by internal affairs for misconduct. That's when the sleep-deprived Dormer - note the irony in his surname - gets sent to Alaska to catch a killer in a small town. Upon arriving, Dormer quickly learns that in Alaska during the summer, the sun never sets. Already beginning to lose his mind due to events back home, Dormer falls apart further as he unsuccessfully tries to cover up the sunlight in his hotel room. Probably the best representation of his mental breakdown is what he does with the floorboard.
But the hitherto events are nothing compared to what follows. While investigating a crime scene, Dormer kills a partner. Not only does he have this on his consciousness, but he gets a call from Walter Finch (Robin Williams), the man whom he is supposed to catch. Finch knows what Dormer did. Almost all events from henceforth will serve to show Dormer's breakdown and how Finch can use it against him.
I don't know whether I would call "Insomnia" an absolutely perfect movie, but it's pretty close. One of the most effective scenes - at least in my view - is Dormer running through the empty street in the middle of the night, which of course looks like it could be midday. This potentially friendly small town has turned into the cruelest of settings for Dormer. No character is really a hero or villain; everyone seems to be a little bit of both. Equally as good as Pacino and Williams is Hilary Swank as Ellie Burr, a detective participating in the investigation. Seemingly a nice young woman, even she might have a few skeletons in her closet.
All in all, I certainly recommend this movie. Christopher Nolan brought to it the same intensity that he instilled in "Memento", and showed the sorts of tricks that he would later bring to "Batman Begins". Above all, it was part of what I called Robin Williams's comeback in 2002: aside from his comedy tour (which I saw when he came to Portland), he played sinister roles in "Death to Smoochy", "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo", so as to make up for the excessively maudlin "Jakob the Liar" and "Bicentennial Man".
So the next time that the sun doesn't set, just be careful...