Film VS Film: Insomnia

July 27, 2008

Greetz folks. This is a new section for the site where I will be comparing films, mostly originals and re-makes. The first one up is the detective thriller Insomnia. First produced in 1997 in Norway revolving around the Arctic Circle and then remade in 2002 in the small town of Nightmute, Alaska. Both films tell the story of a dirty cop who kills his partner in the fog when he thinks he is the suspect they are chasing. Now for a little breakdown on each film.

This film is a nice little one from Norway and it was Erik Skjoldbjærg’s (Prozac Nation) directorial debut. Now out to purchase on the Criterion Collection the DVD doesn’t offer much besides trailers but the film is more than enough. The story is simple and it’s told straight forward. Jonas Engström kills his partner in heavy fog and then can’t remember much about it to place it all together but nonetheless attempts to cover it up. All he wants to do is finish the case and get out Norway. In the film Engström is unable to sleep partly because of guilt and partly because of the never ending sunlight. Which does exactly the opposite of what Noir classically does by using bright lights and white fog to convey the guilt and out of mindedness. The film has a smooth pace and doesn’t lack much besides character development. It opens with us watching a faceless man clean a dead body and then delves straight into Engström taking on the case. We aren’t given any type of back story and the only real B-story is of the female cop who is responsible for recreating the day Engström killed his partner. There is something I really like about the simplicity of it and the fact that the director doesn’t give you any type of characters to get wrapped up in. He tells a straight raw story.

Now onto the 2002 remake by Director Christopher Nolan and starring Robin Williams and Al Pacino. Unlike the 90 minute film that was made five years prior this one clocks in at just under two hours and doesn’t lack any back story or B-story. When this one opens we get Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart coming up from L.A. to assist on a murder case of a 17-year-old girl. But at the same time back in L.A. an intense Internal Affairs investigation is about to put Dormer under. After all he is guilty and when his partner decides to bring it up Dormer gets angry and then in the next scene blatantly shoots his partner in the fog. So begins the story of Dormer trying to cover up the murder. Which is already more than we get in the Norwegian version. Throughout the film Dormer uncovers the murderer, makes a deal with him, twist here, decides to not go through with deal, turn there, and ultimately the B story with Hillary Swank plays a bigger part in this one. Pacino is more forgiving and not really as much of a badass as Stellan Skarsgård’s character. The film is a good piece of popcorn cinema but does it stand up to the original?

Considering the original was mostly a low budget independent movie and the remake cost an estimated 46,000,000 I think it’s safe to say which one is bigger and prettier. Visually Nolan never really makes a mistake and this film is no different. It’s good to look at and Nolan takes advantage of the Alaskan scenery. As far as story-lines go, Nolan’s film pushes it the boundary where Skjoldbjærg’s is simple to understand and only gives you what you need to know. He doesn’t waste any of anybody’s time and I like that a lot. And even though Nolan gives you plenty of character back story for Dormer, I like that Skjoldbjærg lets you get to the character throughout the film instead of the usual exposition. The key scene for this is the car scene when Dormer is taking Kay’s friend to the dump where she was found. Pacino plays chicken with a car and then swerves out of the way, Skarsgård slowly takes his hand and moves it up the girls leg and plays with her. Like I said, Pacino is no badass, Skarsgård is.

So what is comes down is whether you like big Hollywood blockbusters or just want the story and nothing else. If you want action and gosh-golly imagery(thanks Doug) then the Nolan version is for you but if you like the independent side of things and enjoy simple story-telling in Norwegian and Swedish then the original is yours for the taking.

Posted in Film VS Film, J.C., Movies by J.C.