RATING: 3 Stars
Worth A Watch
Main Cast: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank,Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan
Director : Christopher Nolan
Plot Summary:
LAPD Detective, Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are sent to a small remote town in Alaska to investigate the murder of a teenage girl.
Will is a successful, veteran detective who has vast experience in murder investigations but Internal Affairs are investigating him and in particular some of his previous arrests. Will and his partner set up a trap to try and catch the murderer of the teenage girl but things go terribly wrong when there is a shoot out in dense fog…
Review:
This movie is a remake of Norwegian director, Eric Skjoldbjaeg’s movie. This time it is given the “Hollywood” treatment with a big budget and of course the big name of Al Pacino.
On the surface, it seems to be just another detective-murder story but this movie runs deep and it examines the boundaries of right and wrong and the theory than the-end-justifies-the-means. The characters are developed and in particular, Will Dormer played by Al Pacino. The murderer played by Robin Williams is identified early and a battle of wits starts between them.
The story starts off full of intrigue but begins to slow a little in the middle. This is partly because the movie takes “time-out” to develop the characters and I guess this is the cost of great character portrayal. In particular the character of Will Dormer is developed. His inability to sleep in the season of perpetual daylight in Alaska makes him exhausted and irritable and he really looks worn-out and haggard. A dark moody tension is created.
Al Pacino is brilliant in his role and his character is very real. This isn’t the type of "straight" role you might expect to see Robin Williams in, but he too is excellent. Good support from Hilary Swank as a local police officer and Martin Donovan who plays Will’s partner, Hap Eckhart, completes the package.
A clever movie that offers loads more than the run-of-the-mill detective/murder story but is a little slow in the middle and the ending lacks a little punch.
Pic: courtesy Wikipedia.org