Insomnia (1997) – Film Review

Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg
Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Bjørn Floberg
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

If you’ve only ever seen Stellan Skarsgård camping it up in Mamma Mia!, do yourself a favour and check out his back catalogue.

In a career of almost 60 years, which began in his native Sweden, he’s popped up in numerous arthouse hits as well as crowd-pleasing blockbusters. Insomnia, however, doesn’t quite fit into either category. Instead, it’s a gripping and chilly crime thriller that should appeal to anyone who is hooked on Nordic noir.

Skarsgård plays Jonas Engström, a police detective who, alongside his partner Erik Vik, is sent to the city of Tromsø, way up in northern Norway, to investigate the murder of 17-year-old Tanja Lorentzen, whose body has been unceremoniously dumped in a local rubbish tip.

Engström is a skilled but not exactly wholesome cop who moved to Norway after disgracing himself in Sweden by sleeping with a key witness in an important case. He struggles to sleep during the region’s perpetual day – the sun never sets at the time of year in which the story takes place.

“Accidentally shoot and kill”

Perhaps tiredness contributes to another error of judgement that sees Engström accidentally shoot and kill Vik, mistakenly believing him to be the killer. He then goes to great lengths to cover up this tragedy, a move that results in more trauma and a confrontation with the man he believes is responsible for Tanja’s death.

If the plot sounds familiar, then perhaps you’ve seen the Hollywood remake released in 2002, which was directed by Christopher Nolan and starred Al Pacino in the Skarsgård role, alongside Robin Williams and Hilary Swank.

Engström is a difficult character to like. All through the film he makes terrible decisions and is clearly a man on the edge – we’re constantly waiting for him to either cause another disaster or be caught in the act. Skarsgård is impressive throughout, doing so much to convey his character’s discomfort with relatively little dialogue, just looks and actions.

“Cat-and-mouse game”

Matching him is Bjørn Floberg as Jon Holt, the local author Engström suspects is the murderer, and who knows exactly what happened to Vik. The pair enter into a cat-and-mouse game, each trying to prove they have the upper hand on the other, although there will be no sense of triumph from whichever of them ultimately wins the day.

Tromsø native Erik Skjoldbjærg, who directed and co-wrote the screenplay, does a magnificent job of depicting the difficulties Engström feels throughout his sojourn in the city, and keeps viewers hooked to the very end.

An interview with the film-maker is among the highlights of the special features, and reveals the issues he faced in bringing his vision to the screen.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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