Crime,Mystery,Thriller United States of America
In the movie "Insomnia," two Los Angeles homicide detectives, Will Dormer (played by Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart (played by Martin Donovan), are sent to Skagway, a remote town in northern Alaska, to investigate the murder of a local teenager named Kay Connell (played by Crystal Lowe).
The detectives are met with a unique challenge as they arrive during the summer solstice, where the sun remains visible for 24 hours, causing severe sleep deprivation. The constant daylight disorients Dormer, making it difficult for him to distinguish between dreams and reality. This lack of sleep increasingly affects his mental state throughout the investigation.
During their initial investigation, Dormer and Eckhart focus their attention on Kay's former boyfriend, Randy Stetz (played by Jonathan Jackson), as the primary suspect. They uncover evidence suggesting that Kay had a relationship with a seemingly older man. As Dormer becomes more sleep-deprived, his judgment starts to deteriorate, leading to a tragic accident where he mistakenly shoots and kills Eckhart in the foggy Alaskan wilderness.
Walter Finch (played by Robin Williams), a local novelist and writer, who has been observing the detectives closely, discovers Dormer's accidental shooting and the subsequent cover-up. Taking advantage of Dormer's weakened state, Finch begins manipulating him, using the knowledge of his guilt to turn him into an unwitting partner in crime.
As the investigation continues, Dormer starts to suspect Finch's involvement in Kay's murder. However, his deteriorating mental state, combined with the guilt and fear over his accidental killing of Eckhart, begins to cloud his judgment. Dormer's paranoia intensifies as he tries to outmaneuver Finch while also hiding his own guilt.
A young local police officer, Ellie Burr (played by Hilary Swank), begins to suspect Dormer's involvement in Eckhart's death, and she becomes determined to uncover the truth. Ellie starts to piece together the evidence, leading her closer to Dormer and uncovering the truth about the murder of Kay Connell.
As tensions rise and the investigation takes unexpected turns, Dormer finds himself in a race against time to catch the killer and protect his own dark secret. The relentless daylight in Skagway serves as a metaphor for Dormer's increasingly troubled conscience and his inability to escape the consequences of his actions.
The movie explores themes of guilt, moral ambiguity, and the blurred lines between right and wrong as Dormer battles both an external killer and his internal demons. The intense psychological drama showcases the lengths people will go to protect their secrets and the devastating consequences of those choices.