|
|
|
|
 |
Insomnia (1997)
It seems Insomnia had the same surprise effect on international audiences at the time of its release as the lack of darkness has on detective Jonas Engström (Stellan Skarsgård) when he arrives to assist in the investigation of the murder of 17-year-old Tanja Lorentzen in a small northern Norwegian town. People are intrinsically fascinated by natural elements such as midnight sun and its effect on those who are used to it and those who are not, and this makes the concept of Insomnia immediately attractive. What is fundamentally interesting here is how Engström's transition and involuntary self-examination lead us to ponder concepts of guilt and ethics, and how the film suggests that the distance from those who represent what is right to those who represent what is wrong need not be substantial. Unfortunately, this psychological study is not enough to make an unaccomplished and averagely written crime story effective. An only mildly enthusiastic Stellan Skarsgård is brought in to headline this international release as first-time director Erik Skjoldbjærg attempts to convey the claustrophobic atmosphere of the north, but this is nowhere near Orions belte, and the Skarsgård character is overanalyzed from the outset, making the heavy emphasis on his insomnia ultimately counterproductive; we get the point already. The conventional story and the second-fiddle nature of the supporting characters constrain what could have been an intense and interesting study. The director is largely to blame for this – his unsuspenseful narration and mediocre command of his actors make the drama inauthentic and the crime denouement forced. The sober ending and satisfactory conclusion are merely a consolation in a film where even the usually reliable Bjørn Floberg fails to impress.
Re-reviewed: Copyright © 06.08.2008 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
_150w.jpg)
