Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg.
Language: Norwegian, Swedish.
Release Year: 1997.
Rating: * * *1/2
Watching this original version of the Nolan’s brilliant remake of Pacino and Williams starrer “Insomnia”, one can’t help but make unwarranted comparisons. The original has its own strength and its own way of telling a gloomy tale set against a backdrop where sun doesn’t set for a long time, but unfortunately, it falls a few inches short in being the masterwork that the remake was.
Jonas Engstrom (Stellan Skarsgard) and his buddy cop, Erik Vik (Sverre Anker Ousdal) are brought in from Sweden to help the Norway police with a teenager’s murder, whose body was found at a dumping ground. Engstrom’s reputation precedes him, especially because of a past incident in his profession that seems to have tainted his, otherwise, spotless and unprecedented career in the law enforcement. This particular part seems to have been left out from the original, and was only touched upon on few, rare occasions, whereas the remake had developed an engaging subplot out of this fallacy of the lead, and had acted as a rather catalyst that drove the movie to a great extent. Engstrom doesn’t waste any time in lining up the suspects followed by his subtly methodical interrogation in making them squeal.
Not long after, while chasing the real culprit amidst the blinding haze at the riverside, a serious lapse in judgment on Engstrom’s part results in a tragedy, which he himself, unwittingly, has perpetrated. This blow to his conscience leaves Engstrom devastated at first, later, manifesting itself as sleep deprivation, a.k.a. insomnia, and hallucinations. The guilt and the residual images of the event, constantly and vehemently eats away at Engstrom. However, being an ace cop that he is, he pushes through this unforeseen eventuality, and closes in on the real murderer. Now, it’s not actually a whodunit, because even a 10 year old would be able to point his finger at the real murderer here. It’s more about playing the balancing act with the real murderer. Fearing that the murderer would act on his knowledge about the accidental shootout at the riverside, the only way out Engstrom can see from this mess, is to help the murderer escape the rap, and frame someone else for the crime committed against the teenage girl. It’s as simple as “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours”. Engstrom does comply and uses his wits to wipe off all the traces that could lead the cops back to either him or the real murderer. The ending lacks the purging that was a part of the remake, but the movie still manages to hold its own.
It’s Stellan Skarsgard all the way in this movie. His portrayal of the troubled, with a guilty conscience and with “a dead man walking” demeanor cop, relays the deadening calm and glumness of the movie in a very underrated and “beneath the layer” sort of fashion. The constant battle with his actions, both in the present and the past, gradually taking a toll on his psyche, was vociferously apparent in how he goes about his job after the incident by the river. Carrying the whole movie on his shoulders, helped to a great extent by air-tight screenplay and execution, Stellan Skarsgard leaves an immensely engraved impression. Speaking of execution, the movie almost lacks any background score, which compounds the eerie feel of the movie and the gloomy town of Norway, takes it to another level. It feels as if one is walking through a silent nightmare, watching over the lead’s shoulders, as he proceeds to unravel the secret of a crime, and eventually, putting his own wounded scruples to rest.
Now coming to the inevitable comparison with the remake, the original lacks the grim style and the gripping approach that Nolan had going for his movie. Both the movies are slow in its pace, but the remake had a handful of subplots, seemingly attaching itself to the main plot, and keeping the whole affair intriguing and fresh. The original however, doesn’t do that, and goes straight as an arrow, following the main plot, with a semblance of minute diversions that doesn’t really transform into anything. On the performance front, the original has Stellan Skarsgard playing the lone ranger, while the remake had stellar performances from both the hero and the antihero. The original doesn’t give much room to the killer’s character, played by Bjorn Floberg, to maneuver his acting chops, leaving him to play the second fiddle to Stellan’s character.
Overall, the original is a good movie, with great acting by the lead, strong script and some nice photography, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark that the remake was able to. If I had to pick between the two, I’d pick the gripping remake by Nolan, over this rather wandering, sleepy thriller.
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