Hooh-Ahhh! Good Stuff!

Rating: 9/10 (6 June 2002)

In the American version of a 1997 Norwegian film, Al Pacino is Will Dormer, a decorated veteran LAPD detective. He and his partner, Hap Eckhart, are ostensibly in Alaska to help an old friend of Will's investigate the murder of a seventeen year old girl. Hap, however, is convinced that they have been sent away to ease the pressure of a sweeping Internal Affairs investigation underway in L.A.
Dormer closes in quickly on the primary suspect, mystery novelist Walter Finch (Williams). Fortunately for Finch, however, he has some valuable leverage on Dormer; he knows something that Dormer can't afford for anyone else to find out. As a result, Finch, who believes that his experience as a writer qualifies him to be a master criminal, is able to manipulate Dormer and the local cops.
Compounding Will's problem with Finch is the midnight sun of Alaska; Dormer hasn't been able to sleep since he arrived. As Dormer's grip on reality becomes increasingly tenuous, he is beset on all sides by his personal demons, by the devious Finch and by an earnest rookie police officer, Ellie Burr (Swank), concerned about the direction her own investigation is taking.
Christopher Nolan's first directorial effort since his critically acclaimed Memento is significantly less confusing and much more rewarding. The Oscar-encrusted cast deserves quite a bit of the credit. Pacino is Pacino, but he works perfectly as the shady, shoddy veteran cop and he manages not to chew up all the scenery. Robin Williams is surprisingly creepy as Finch, and he manages not to erupt into madcap hysterics.