While some of Nolan’s films may struggle in the realm of compelling character development, Insomnia is the most delicate, nuanced, and profound character directing seen in any of his movies.Trouble sleeping, daytime sleepiness, low energy, irritability, depressed mood For all of that, and perhaps because of it, it is an excellent movie whose tension and plot is almost exclusively drawn from the tightening screws of moral quandaries in character drama. Insomnia is a restrained movie, taking place in a very narrow locale without any fancy visual pyrotechnics. The final scene between Burr and Dormer crystallizes this dilemma - in the last moment, Burr prepares to throw away the only piece of evidence tying Dormer to the crime, and Dormer stops her from doing it, telling her, “Don’t lose your way.” Burr herself is also drawn into this quandary, as she must decide whether to pursue the investigation and incriminate Dormer or let him go and forget about her moral responsibility. At the climax, Dormer is faced with two options: let Finch go free and everything stands, all the criminals he caught stay in jail, or catch Finch, and everything falls apart - Dormer himself will be incriminated and his one instance of evidence-planting will be used to unravel all of his previous cases. The final element that creates an excellent character drama is the establishment of the stark moral stakes by the end of the film. Finch and Burr play as opposing foils to his character, and part of the great tension of the film exhibited in Dormer’s own drama is his profound uncertainty as to which one of the two he ultimately is. Dormer vacillates between the two extremes, at one point helping Finch and at another being disgusted with him and trying to convict him. The one scene in the movie in which these three characters share a conversation is a masterful example of this dynamic. Dormer himself cannot decide which one of the two he is, ultimately, as with Finch he attempts to subvert the investigation and with Burr he actually points her in the right direction, as if he wants to get caught for what he’s done. He encourages her development and assistance in the case but finds himself torn between these two extremes: Burr, who is the type of officer he once was, and Finch, who embodies the direction in which he is going. The other side of Dormer’s character is also developing in response to a young officer who idolizes his work and wants to be just like him: Hilary Swank’s Ellie Burr. RELATED: Christopher Nolan Films Ranked from Worst to Best He planted evidence in a previous case in order to catch a man who was guilty as sin but didn’t leave enough evidence to make a conviction. In order to keep all of his previous cases from unraveling and criminals from going free, he pins the murder of his partner on the suspect under investigation, and the movie subtly shows just how familiar Dormer is with illegally sneaking around behind the backs of the investigation. Though he insists it was an accident, his dying partner is convinced that Dormer intended to kill him to tie up a loose end, and his final words haunt Dormer throughout the movie until he begins to wonder himself if he actually meant to do it.Īs his present is unraveling and the past is catching up to him, Dormer finds himself unable to sleep, in part due to Alaska’s perpetual daylight and in part because of his unquiet conscience his exhaustion, and the tragedy of the story, grow proportionally as the film progresses. It is only when Dormer later accidentally shoots and kills his partner in a chase in the fog, however, that he begins to question his own intentions. This particular unknown past concerning “the Dobbs case” ends up enhancing the drama of the movie, as Dormer’s partner confesses that he is about to cut a deal with an internal investigation and give information to the investigator.
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