Rating of
3/4
Very cool, intense, great cast performance.
TheWolf - wrote on 08/10/07
Detective Will Dormer (Pacino) arrives in Alaska with a lot more baggage than can be carried by hand. He's fabricated evidence in a gruesome abduction/murder case, and he's under investigation by Internal Affairs. His partner, Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) is about to cut a deal with I.A. to protect his own career. This provides the necessary tension between the two men to make the apparently accidental shooting suspect, not only in the viewer's mind, but also in Dormer's.
The principal supporting role, that of the local female detective is also very different in the two films. In the current version, detective Ellie Burr (Swank) almost fawns over Dormer, and that characterisation creaked a little for me. Burr declares she has read all of Dormer's cases (how likely is that, really, since it appears that Dormer has been an L.A. detective for about 30 years?), and made a detailed study of one of his major cases during her stint at "the academy".
Turning in a solid performance, also, is Robin Williams, who seems to be taking a page out of Pacino's book by finding the kind of restraint he needed to make his character work. Williams has played a variety of roles in his career, but never has he played so against type as his portrayal of Walter Finch in this film; and he does it well. He's entirely convincing-- his Finch is very real and disquietingly believable, in that his outward appearance is so normal, while in reality he is capable of deeds most vile.
The movie is really well done, Christopher Nolan, who previous works include Memento is an amazing director. He knows how to make what could be a slow scene very intense simply by his choice of camera angles and shot placement. Over all this film is brilliant!
