INSOMNIA (Norsk Filminstitutt, Nordic Screen Production A/S, Norsk Film A/S)
Certification: 15 Genre: Thriller Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Bjørn Floberg Directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg
My personal rating: 4+ out of 6
INSOMNIA is the typical psychological thriller where someone did something very bad, and is haunted by the deed.
A young girl has been murdered, and two homicide detectives, Jonas Engström (Skarsgård) and Erik Vik (Ousdal), are sent to conduct an investigation. Later on, the detectives discover a cabin where the suspect might be hiding. A fog covers the area, and during the operation one of the detectives shoot and kill the other by mistake. The local police believes that the suspect was responsible, and the remaining detective must do whatever he can to support that theory. But sinners don't sleep ...
INSOMNIA is Skjoldbjærg's first directing job, and he does it quite well. The scenes are eerie, the psychological aspect is always with us, and the pacing of the movie is excellent. However, we sometimes find it difficult to fully understand what is going on. This is not a movie where one can ask a lot of questions; way enough trouble attempting to figure out what is happening, rather than why.
The actors perform with great panache; there is nothing much to discuss there. Skarsgård has recently appeared in GOOD WILL HUNTING and AMISTAD. He certainly carries some creepiness and depth of character with him whereever he goes.
INSOMNIA is a tense and mildly violent thriller, and it does well in the genre. I rate it 4+ out of 6.
Reviewed by Stian M. Landgaard, March 31st, 1998
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