Insomnia . Newcity Chicago . 07-13-98

Insomnia

DIRECTED BY: Erik Skjoldbjærg

REVIEWED: 07-13-98

"Insomnia" is a stylish and riveting thriller, with a restrained, intense central performance by Stellan Skarsgard as a Swedish police detective called to investigate the murder of a teenage girl in a Norwegian town north of the Arctic Circle. It's summer, the sun never sets. Skarsgard is a herring out of water, bound in crisp Armani suits and always taken as an outsider by those he encounters. For a debut director, Eric Skjoldbjaerg's work is remarkably contained, charting the sleepless detective's inexorable breakdown in a near-ascetic style akin to David Lynch's; portent and intense sound design let the character's consciousness filter into our own. Tense and funny, "Insomnia" is a small, rich pleasure. 97m.

--Ray Pride

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