Insomnia well-acted, well-done

Insomnia is a well-made, well-acted, well-written movie. I suppose the right genre is "thriller." But it's not about making you jump or scream. It's about tension.

Al Pacino plays L.A. Det. Will Dormer. Dormer is well-respected, and he and fellow detective Hap Eckhart (played by Martin Donovan) are sent to Nightmute, Alaska to help with a murder investigation. A former co-worker of Dormer's is the police chief there, and Nightmute doesn't get too many murders, so they've called in the big boys.

Or rather, they called for help, and L.A. sent the big boys because the big boys are in trouble with Internal Affairs back in L.A., and IA thought it might be good to ship them off somewhere while they cemented their case. The problem is that Hap is the one who is going to cement that case, so Dormer's fate, and the fates of all the cases that have hinged on his investigations, rest in Hap's hands. And Hap tells Dormer he's going to cut a deal. Should make for a pleasant partnership, right?

Well, Hap and Dormer get to work. They set up the suspect, and during a botched attempt to catch the guy, Dormer accidentally kills Hap. Dormer makes the second bad choice of his career. The first made him vulnerable to IA, and the second is now. He blames the suspect, meaning he now has to run around trying to cover his own forensic tracks, as well as catch the killer. One problem: the killer saw him kill Hap.

So, now the killer, local author Walter Finch (Robin Williams), blackmails Dormer. He won't tell about Dormer's murder if Dormer doesn't tell about his - if he lets some kid the murdered girl dated take the rap. The rest of the movie is a cat and mouse game of Dormer trying to somehow get away with what he did while not letting Finch get away.

The acting is excellent. Pacino is incredible as an exhausted, guilt-ridden cop, who is unable to sleep either from guilt or Nightmute's white nights or both. Robin Williams is fabulous as the killer, a seemingly mild-mannered man who swears his crime of passion was an accident. And Hilary Swank is utterlly believable as the eager young cop, awed by her hero, Dormer, and who is willing to almost make the same mistakes as Dormer to save his reputation.

The cinematography is beautiful and effective. You feel cold and exhausted, and the huge mountains mirror the overwhelmed feeling that Dormer has as he tries to save the situation. The atmosphere is tense, and not once did I look at my watch.

There is quite a log of strong language, and only one corny line I can think of and one contrived scene where Dormer is almost caught trying to retrieve evidence planted by Finch.

Otherwise, the film is strong and well-done.