Insomnia

Hollywood loves remaking European box-office hits, but all too rarely with happy results. Insomnia, however, is an exception. The American version of the Norwegian film of the same name has turned out to be an intelligent and disturbing psychological crime thriller.

The action is set in the small town of Nightmute in the desolate wilds of Alaska. The town has been shaken by the murder of a schoolgirl. The local police cannot handle the job on their own, so two homicide experts are sent for from Los Angeles: the experienced Will Dormer and his younger partner Hap Eckhart.

It is no coincidence that Dormer has been given the assignment, for in Los Angeles the ground is slowly starting to burn under his feet. Internal Affairs has begun digging for dirt in Dormer's cases. The upright Hap Eckhart is prepared to testify, and that could be the beginning of the end for Dormer.

During a police operation there is an exchange of fire between the murderer and the police, in which Dormer shoots his partner, while the murderer escapes in the fog. In a panic, Dormer manipulates the truth, covering his tracks and blaming the fugitive for the killing.

But was it an accident, or was there a grain of premeditation? That is the question Dormer asks himself again and again during the long, light nights when he lies sleepless.

The criminal mystery is of course central to the story, but the main theme is Dormer's moral rollercoaster ride, and that is also reflected in the film's oppressive atmosphere. Dormer becomes more and more entangled in a web of lies and deceit, so that his corrupt soul eventually puts even more people in danger. The murderer, after all, knows the truth about Hap Eckhart's death - and he is prepared to use his knowledge.