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Insomnia (2002 film)
Encyclopedia
Insomnia is an American psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan
and starring Al Pacino
, Robin Williams
, and Hilary Swank
. The film, released on 24 May 2002, is a remake
of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name
.
, 17-year-old Kay Connell (Crystal Lowe
) is found murdered. LAPD
detectives Will Dormer (Al Pacino
) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan
) are sent to assist the local police with their investigation.
Concurrently, an intense Internal Affairs
investigation in Los Angeles
is about to put Dormer under the microscope; Eckhart reveals that Internal Affairs has offered him an immunity deal in exchange for his testimony regarding one of Dormer's past cases. Dormer tries to talk Eckhart out of it, but Eckhart, apparently complicit to some degree in Dormer's misdeeds, says that ultimately he must look out for himself and his family, so he feels he has no choice but to accept the deal.
Focusing on the Nightmute case, Dormer comes up with a plan to lure the murderer back to the scene of the crime; however, the stakeout attempt is blown, and the murder suspect flees into the fog, forcing the police to spread out and search for him on foot. During the pursuit, Dormer sees a figure through the fog, which he believes is the armed murder suspect. He fires, and the figure collapses. When Dormer approaches, he discovers that he has mistakenly shot Eckhart; Dormer then runs to Eckhart's aid, only to find he believes that Dormer shot him to prevent him from testifying, causing him to turn away in fear before succumbing to his wounds. Given the nature of Eckhart's impending testimony, Dormer knows that Internal Affairs will never believe that the shooting was accidental; panicked, he alters the crime scene before crying for help. Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank
), a young police officer and Dormer's biggest fan, is put in charge of the investigation of Eckhart's shooting. Dormer uses his influence and reputation to try and mislead her into believing the suspect killed Eckhart.
Over the next few days, Dormer begins losing his grip on reality, plagued with guilt over killing Eckhart and tormented by the resultant insomnia
(which is further exacerbated by the perpetual daylight
). Dormer then starts receiving anonymous phone calls from the suspect, who claims to have witnessed Dormer kill his partner, and knows of his attempts to cover it up. Dormer is aware that Kay was a fan of a crime writer named Walter Finch (Robin Williams
), and books autographed by him were found among her possessions; this then leads Dormer to believe that Finch is somehow involved. Dormer breaks into Finch's apartment to gather evidence, only to be discovered by Finch himself, who gets away. Finch contacts Dormer, who agrees to meet him in public; Finch then offers Dormer a deal, where Dormer is to frame Kay's abusive
boyfriend Randy Stetz (Jonathan Jackson
) for the murder in exchange for Finch's silence about the Eckhart shooting, forcing Dormer to choose between destroying his own reputation and allowing an innocent man to be sent to prison.
Meanwhile, Burr finds some inconsistencies in Dormer's testimony; she finds a 9mm shell casing at the scene, which conflicts with the bullet type believed to be found in the body, and believes that the direction the suspect fled is improbable. Meanwhile, Finch calls Dormer and tells him that Kay's death was "an accident" — he beat her to death in a blind rage after she laughed at him for making a pass at her. Dormer is appalled, but resolves to keep his end of the deal. The next day, Finch, under Dormer's instruction, gives false testimony at the station, which, along with a weapon planted by Finch, effectively places blame on Randy. Back at the station, Finch offers to give Burr letters indicating that Randy abused Kay, and asks her to come and collect evidence from his second, isolated home the next day.
Dormer returns to his hotel for one last night, where he confides in the hotel owner, Rachel Clement (Maura Tierney
), about the investigation in which Eckhart was to testify; he reveals that he fabricated evidence to help convict a pedophile he was certain was guilty of murdering a child, and who would have been set free if Eckhart had testified. She refuses to pass judgment on Dormer, saying that she moved to Alaska because she was trying to "escape something".
Upon returning to Finch's apartment, Dormer discovers that Finch has gone to meet Burr without his evidence, and realizes that he intends to kill her. Meanwhile, Burr discovers the murder victim's dress, and is struck by Finch, knocking her unconscious. Dormer, fatigued from his insomnia, eventually reaches the cabin and struggles to fight Finch. Burr eventually saves Dormer from Finch, who flees outside to cover; Burr, however, holds Dormer at gunpoint, revealing that she knows he shot Eckhart and demands to know whether he did it on purpose. Dormer admits that he shot his partner, but claims he is no longer certain if it was an accident. From the protection of his shed, Finch fires at them with a shotgun and Dormer devises a plan; while Burr distracts him with gunfire, Dormer sneaks around to Finch's location. A struggle ensues, which ends with them shooting each other, killing Finch and mortally wounding Dormer.
Burr rushes to the detective's aid, and then comforts Dormer by affirming that Eckhart's shooting was accidental, and tries to toss the shell casing evidence. Dormer stops Burr, telling her not to lose her way, before saying "just let me sleep" as he dies. After a brief moment of contemplation, Burr decides to slip the shell casing back into its plastic evidence bag.
, with an average rating of 7.7/10 from a total of 167 reviews. The website reported the critical consensus, "Driven by Pacino's performance, Insomnia is a smart and riveting psychological drama." The film also holds a Metacritic
score of 78, based on 36 reviews.
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
and starring Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
, Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, and Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
. The film, released on 24 May 2002, is a remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name
Insomnia (1997 film)
Insomnia is a 1997 Norwegian thriller film about a police detective investigating a murder in a town located above the Arctic Circle. The investigation goes horribly wrong when he mistakenly shoots his partner and subsequently attempts to cover up his bungle...
.
Plot
In the small fishing town of Nightmute, AlaskaNightmute, Alaska
Nightmute is a village in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 208.-Geography:Nightmute is located on Nelson Island near Toksook Bay...
, 17-year-old Kay Connell (Crystal Lowe
Crystal Lowe
Crystal Lowe is a Canadian-born actress best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.-Early life:...
) is found murdered. LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
detectives Will Dormer (Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan
Martin Donovan
Martin Donovan is an American stage and film actor. He has had a long collaboration with the director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, including Trust , Surviving Desire , Simple Men , Flirt , Amateur , and The Book of Life...
) are sent to assist the local police with their investigation.
Concurrently, an intense Internal Affairs
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
investigation in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
is about to put Dormer under the microscope; Eckhart reveals that Internal Affairs has offered him an immunity deal in exchange for his testimony regarding one of Dormer's past cases. Dormer tries to talk Eckhart out of it, but Eckhart, apparently complicit to some degree in Dormer's misdeeds, says that ultimately he must look out for himself and his family, so he feels he has no choice but to accept the deal.
Focusing on the Nightmute case, Dormer comes up with a plan to lure the murderer back to the scene of the crime; however, the stakeout attempt is blown, and the murder suspect flees into the fog, forcing the police to spread out and search for him on foot. During the pursuit, Dormer sees a figure through the fog, which he believes is the armed murder suspect. He fires, and the figure collapses. When Dormer approaches, he discovers that he has mistakenly shot Eckhart; Dormer then runs to Eckhart's aid, only to find he believes that Dormer shot him to prevent him from testifying, causing him to turn away in fear before succumbing to his wounds. Given the nature of Eckhart's impending testimony, Dormer knows that Internal Affairs will never believe that the shooting was accidental; panicked, he alters the crime scene before crying for help. Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
), a young police officer and Dormer's biggest fan, is put in charge of the investigation of Eckhart's shooting. Dormer uses his influence and reputation to try and mislead her into believing the suspect killed Eckhart.
Over the next few days, Dormer begins losing his grip on reality, plagued with guilt over killing Eckhart and tormented by the resultant insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
(which is further exacerbated by the perpetual daylight
Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...
). Dormer then starts receiving anonymous phone calls from the suspect, who claims to have witnessed Dormer kill his partner, and knows of his attempts to cover it up. Dormer is aware that Kay was a fan of a crime writer named Walter Finch (Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
), and books autographed by him were found among her possessions; this then leads Dormer to believe that Finch is somehow involved. Dormer breaks into Finch's apartment to gather evidence, only to be discovered by Finch himself, who gets away. Finch contacts Dormer, who agrees to meet him in public; Finch then offers Dormer a deal, where Dormer is to frame Kay's abusive
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
boyfriend Randy Stetz (Jonathan Jackson
Jonathan Jackson (actor)
Jonathan Stevens Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Lucky Spencer, son of supercouple Luke and Laura on the American daytime drama General Hospital...
) for the murder in exchange for Finch's silence about the Eckhart shooting, forcing Dormer to choose between destroying his own reputation and allowing an innocent man to be sent to prison.
Meanwhile, Burr finds some inconsistencies in Dormer's testimony; she finds a 9mm shell casing at the scene, which conflicts with the bullet type believed to be found in the body, and believes that the direction the suspect fled is improbable. Meanwhile, Finch calls Dormer and tells him that Kay's death was "an accident" — he beat her to death in a blind rage after she laughed at him for making a pass at her. Dormer is appalled, but resolves to keep his end of the deal. The next day, Finch, under Dormer's instruction, gives false testimony at the station, which, along with a weapon planted by Finch, effectively places blame on Randy. Back at the station, Finch offers to give Burr letters indicating that Randy abused Kay, and asks her to come and collect evidence from his second, isolated home the next day.
Dormer returns to his hotel for one last night, where he confides in the hotel owner, Rachel Clement (Maura Tierney
Maura Tierney
Maura Therese Tierney is an American film and television actress, who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on NewsRadio and Abby Lockhart on the television medical drama ER.-Early life:...
), about the investigation in which Eckhart was to testify; he reveals that he fabricated evidence to help convict a pedophile he was certain was guilty of murdering a child, and who would have been set free if Eckhart had testified. She refuses to pass judgment on Dormer, saying that she moved to Alaska because she was trying to "escape something".
Upon returning to Finch's apartment, Dormer discovers that Finch has gone to meet Burr without his evidence, and realizes that he intends to kill her. Meanwhile, Burr discovers the murder victim's dress, and is struck by Finch, knocking her unconscious. Dormer, fatigued from his insomnia, eventually reaches the cabin and struggles to fight Finch. Burr eventually saves Dormer from Finch, who flees outside to cover; Burr, however, holds Dormer at gunpoint, revealing that she knows he shot Eckhart and demands to know whether he did it on purpose. Dormer admits that he shot his partner, but claims he is no longer certain if it was an accident. From the protection of his shed, Finch fires at them with a shotgun and Dormer devises a plan; while Burr distracts him with gunfire, Dormer sneaks around to Finch's location. A struggle ensues, which ends with them shooting each other, killing Finch and mortally wounding Dormer.
Burr rushes to the detective's aid, and then comforts Dormer by affirming that Eckhart's shooting was accidental, and tries to toss the shell casing evidence. Dormer stops Burr, telling her not to lose her way, before saying "just let me sleep" as he dies. After a brief moment of contemplation, Burr decides to slip the shell casing back into its plastic evidence bag.
Cast
- Al PacinoAl PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
as Detective Will Dormer - Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
as Walter Finch - Hilary SwankHilary SwankHilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
as Ellie Burr - Maura TierneyMaura TierneyMaura Therese Tierney is an American film and television actress, who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on NewsRadio and Abby Lockhart on the television medical drama ER.-Early life:...
as Rachel Clement - Martin DonovanMartin DonovanMartin Donovan is an American stage and film actor. He has had a long collaboration with the director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, including Trust , Surviving Desire , Simple Men , Flirt , Amateur , and The Book of Life...
as Detective Hap Eckhart - Nicky KattNicky KattNicholas Lea "Nicky" Katt is an American actor known for his role as unorthodox teacher Harry Senate on David E. Kelley's Fox drama Boston Public.-Career:...
as Fred Duggar - Paul DooleyPaul Dooley-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
as Chief Nyback - Crystal LoweCrystal LoweCrystal Lowe is a Canadian-born actress best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.-Early life:...
as Kay Connell - Jay BrazeauJay BrazeauJay Brazeau is a notable Canadian actor and voice actor. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.-Career:His credits include voicing Richard Condie's Oscar-nominated animated short La Salla. He also appeared in two of the first season episodes of Highlander: The Series in 1992...
as Francis - Larry HoldenLarry HoldenLarry Holden was an Irish actor best known for his roles in several of Christopher Nolan's films, including Batman Begins as Finch, Memento as Jimmy and Insomnia as Farrell. Holden was born in Belfast and began his career in 1991's The Arc. He appeared in episodes of Cracker and Charmed...
as Farrell - Kerry SandomirskyKerry Sandomirsky-Filmography:* Wiseguy .... Angela Terranova* Unsub .... Janice* Matinee .... Kelly* Mom P.I....
as Trish Eckhart - Lorne CardinalLorne CardinalLorne Cardinal is a stage, television and film actor, best known for portraying character Davis Quinton on the Canadian television series Corner Gas.-Personal life:...
as Rich - Katharine IsabelleKatharine IsabelleKatherine Isobel Murray , better known by her screen name Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress, best known for her portrayal of Ginger in Ginger Snaps, and as Gibb in Freddy vs. Jason.-Biography:...
as Tanya Francke - Jonathan JacksonJonathan Jackson (actor)Jonathan Stevens Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Lucky Spencer, son of supercouple Luke and Laura on the American daytime drama General Hospital...
as Randy Stetz
Reception
Critics' reviews were very positive, with a "Certified Fresh" rating of 92% on review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with an average rating of 7.7/10 from a total of 167 reviews. The website reported the critical consensus, "Driven by Pacino's performance, Insomnia is a smart and riveting psychological drama." The film also holds a Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 78, based on 36 reviews.