#133: Insomnia
Release Date: March 14th, 1997
Format: Criterion Collection on DVD
Written by: Nikolaj Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjærg
Directed by: Erik Skjoldbjærg
4 Stars
Insomnia is an immersive, cold examination of morality. It’s the kind of movie that would make Dostoevsky proud.
Stellan Skarsgard (who is superb here) plays Swedish detective Jonas Engstrom, who has moved to Norway and is called in to investigate the murder of a 17-year-old girl in the northernmost region of the country, north of the Arctic Circle. He and his partner, Erik Vik (warmly portrayed by Norwegian actor Sverre Anker Ousdal) proceed with their investigation with a detached confidence, and during a seaside stakeout they manage to lure the killer into a shed as a trap.
But unbeknownst to them, there is a hatch in the floor through which the killer escapes. A foot chase follows, and in heavy fog, Engstrom accidentally shoots and kills his partner. To save his job and reputation, Engstrom pins the shooting on their pursuant, and thus begins his slow slide into increasingly questionable morality.
To what extent do the means justify the ends for Detective Engstrom? In his righteous mission to catch a killer of women, is it worth killing a dog in order to extract a necessary shell casing in which to frame him? Is it worth breaking and entering? Planting evidence? Coercing a young, vulnerable, female witness?
Writer/director Erik Skjoldbjærg does a masterful job of pacing Engstrom’s descent. As he slides downward, we do too. Surely, we ask, this must all be justified? He’s a detective after all. He’s identified the young woman’s killer, and she deserves justice, even if it means bending some rules, right? And in a way, the killer is also just as responsible for Engstrom’s partner’s death as Engstrom is. At least Engstrom feels remorse for what happened.
Or does he? Is he remorseful, or is he interested in self-preservation? Is he interested in justice, or is he driven by darker motivations? Does it matter how or why he catches a killer, when what really matters is that he’s caught?
These are the dark questions posed by Insomnia, and it’s all set in juxtaposition to the Arctic Circle’s midnight sun. During all hours of the day and night, the sun beats down on Detective Engstrom. He can’t sleep. He has nowhere to hide, and in the end, nor does his conscience.
