Is there a serial killer on the loose? I'm afraid not...and other disappointments.

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2002)

Al Pacino plays Will Dormer, a top cop from Los Angeles sent to Alaska to investigate the beating death of a seventeen year-old girl. Is there a serial killer on the loose? I'm afraid not. Pacino's character brings career problems to Alaska that cause him to have trouble sleeping in the twenty-four hour Alaskan daylight. Dormer's problems are complicated when he accidentally shoots and kills his partner while hunting the killer. But is it an accident or murder? (His partner was the only one who new Dormer's secret past and could end his career.) Another reason for the insomnia. Enter Robin Williams as the teen's murderer (it's not a secret), witnessing Pacino's (Dormer's) "accident" and blackmailing the cop to help him evade capture. I won't get into the twists and turns, the director's playing with light, or the Alaskan scenery, but this was not what I expected. I ended up staying to watch Pacino (he is one of the greats after all), but found myself disappointed with this thriller turned drama. I wanted to go looking for a serial killer. The one thing I did notice was Robin Williams makes a great nut. He looks so innocent and timid, so harmless, a perfect serial killer. I hope we see more of him as the bad guy in the future. I just wanted more of that.