Al Pacino gives another flawless performance as flawed L.A. cop, Will Dormer, on a mission to Alaska to help solve the unusual murder of a teenage girl who was primped and manicured after she was killed. Al dominates the screen with his world weary presence in Dormer’s attempts to ferret out the killer. Robin Williams is the killer, mystery writer Walter Finch, who matches Dormer’s efforts tit for tat with a blackmail scheme that could make Dormer an accessory after the fact in one nail biting confrontation after another. "Insonmia" slowly turns into a deadly game of chess where a stalemate could exact a price Will is not willing to pay.

The cause of Will’s insomnia is rooted as much in his guilt over his actions in an earlier case - the reason for an investigation into his possible misconduct in the past back in L.A - as the twenty four hour Alaskan daylight that always finds its way through the shades and blinds into his room. The Midnight Sun is much like his consceince. He can’t escape it. The accidental death of his partner, Hap (Martin Donovan), during their manhunt in a foggy wilderness only exacerbates his condition. When he sets up the killer to take the blame, his plan backfires with Finch taking the initiative with a scheme that pins the rap for the dead girl on her abusive boyfriend, exonerates him and lets Dormer off the hook for Hap’s death. But Dormer is a good cop who has always believed - or has tried his entire professional life to convince himself - that the end justifies the means.

Pacino gets good support from Hilary Swank as a bush league cop who once studied one of Dormer’s celebrated cases at the Academy. She is in awe of his presence but not so bowled over as to lose her wits. Her good police work and instincts help pull all the inconsistencies in Will’s conclusions and the murder case together.

The screenplay by Hilary Seitxz is adapted from a Norwegion film of the same name with Stellen Skarrsgard (the Professor in "Good Will Hunting"). Director Christopher Nolan, who gave us the Indie hit "Memento," adds some stylistic flourishes with mixed results. At first intriguing, at least one having to do with fibers that fill the frame like a piece of abstract art tends to wear thin when it soaks up rivulets of blood one too many times. Once the point of its presence is made, it keeps coming back as if Nolan, the director, didn’t trust his audience to catch on to its significance the first few times around.. This shortcoming is more than compensated for by Nolan great use of the primitive locations that complement Will Dormer’s ever increasing feeling of isolation. There’s also a great chase scene across and under a flotilla of logs headed for the mill.

Copyright 2002

"Angel Street" (1940) - About a killer trying to drive his wife nuts while looking for some hidden gems. A cop gets wise to him and tries to thwart his scheme. Austrian ex-patriot Anton Wolbrook, - the Maestro in "The Red Shoes" - is the husband. MGM redid it several years later with the hit play’s original title, "Gaslight." Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman starred.

"The Suspect" (1944) - Charles Laughton is a henpecked husband who has designs on a younger, lovelier, and more sympathetic woman. There’s never a doubt that he will kill his wife. The suspense comes in when he is pursued by a detective who has an instinct for his quarry’s true character. Will he catch the murderer in a lie or will guilt get the best of him? With Laughton, you never really know.

"An Inspector Calls" (1954) - Alistaire Sim is the inspector who thinks there is more to a suicide than meets the eye. Great British film based on a famous play by J.B. Priestley that has been revived over the years. Directed by Guy Hamilton who later helmed several James Bond movies starting with "Goldfinger" in 1965.

"Experiment in Terror" (1962) - A suspense thriller from director Blake Edwards who is more famous for light comedies like "Operation Petticoat" and the "Pink Panther" movies. Glen Ford is a detective trying to catch an extortionist. Lee Remick is the victim.

Terrific picture if you can find it!