2002 remake of Norwegian film of same title by
Christopher Noland, director of
Memento. Stars
Al Pacino,
Robin Williams and
Hilary Swank.
Summarily, its another cop flick, with Al Pacino playing a homicide detective in the later years of his career, hounded by internal affairs and being pressured by his partner to undergo an investigation (at least I think was happening -- you know how movies can throw all this stuff at you that, in a book, is comprehendible, but when elucidated by actors turns into vaguely important background noise...?).
Anyhow, he goes up to Alaska, where its daytime all the time. There's been a murder that either the local cops can't figure out or is interesting enough to involve such a heavy hitter -- that, too, wasn't that hashed out, but it doesn't really matter.
Some sticky shit goes down between Al and his partner, leading the murderer -- Robin Williams, in a decently creepy stepping away from his normally creepy comedic schlock -- and him to come into communicae.
Blah blah blah, all that detective stuff with the usual amount of unusual twists. Pacino carries his load, Hillary seems under-used, more a prop than an actress, really, and Robin isn't given enough slack to show us how twisted he can really be.
As a film, its well sculpted, but isn't anything special, which is almost a let down, considering Nolan's breakout film, Memento. But doesn't every artist deserve a little time with the standards? Take David Fincher's Panic Room -- no Fight Club, surely, or Seven for that matter, but it shows how the conventional is a great venue for one's creativity to express how unconventional it is.