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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 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.
Lasting
thought: Does the end justify the means?
Reviewed by Niall Quinn,
Premier Movie Reviews
2002 |