History Film / Insomnia

* BlackAndGrayMorality: The remake. The killer is a cheerful and smiling, but ice-cold psychopath, while Dormer is a angst-ridden DirtyCop who genuinely tries to do good in an indifferent world, but is forced to dig himself deeper into an inexcusable pit. The two men's relationship could, at best, be likened to a fish caught helplessly in the fisherman's hook.

However, due the stress of the investigation, combined with an extreme case of insomnia brought on by the White Nights, he ends up committing a fatal error when he tries to hunt down the killer - a botch-up that he, overwhelmed by his sleepless frenzy, attempts to cover up.

[[SimilarlyNamedWorks No relation to]] the Creator/StephenKing novel ''Literature/{{Insomnia}},'' or the gaming/philosophy website, or the Legend of Zelda fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Insomnia}}''.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: The remake. The killer is a cheerful and smiling, but ice-cold psychopath, while Dormer is a angst-ridden DirtyCop who genuinely tries to do good in an indifferent world, but is forced to dig himself deeper into an inexcusable pit. The two men's relationship could, at best, be likened to a fish caught helplessly in the fisherman's hook.

* GreyAndGreyMorality: The original, albeit bordering on BlackAndBlackMorality. The killer is something of a labile, choleric pervert, but Engström harbours a terrifyingly ruthless and unhinged personality of his own - even if his judgement is undeniably clouded by his insomnia. In this version, the corruption is much less one-sided, with both men trading threats, blackmail, and flights of panic.

* NaiveNewcomer: Ellie Burr in the remake is a rookie cop and wide-eyed idealist, who thinks of Dormer as an infallible
role-model. As the film progresses, she begins to learn that things are not always as clear-cut as she first thought.

and role-model. As the film progresses, she begins to learn that things are not always as clear-cut as she first thought.

* NaiveNewcomer: Ellie Burr in the remake is a rookie cop and wide-eyed idealist, who thinks of Dormer as an infallible hero and role-model. As the film progresses, she begins to learn that things are not always as clear-cut as she first thought.

* OnceMoreWithClarity: As is the case with Creator/ChristopherNolan films, there's a couple shots that take on a new significance when they're shown again later. The movie opens with an extreme closeup of a white cloth being stained with something red, presumably blood. [[spoiler: Much later it turns out that this wasn't the victim's blood on her clothes, but blood Dormer planted on someone clothes in a completely different case in order to [[FramingTheGuiltyParty Frame The Guilty Party]]]]. A little later, we get snippets of a girl laughing, which looks like Dormer imagining the victim alive and happy. [[spoiler: Then Finch tells Dormer about how he killed the victim for laughing at him. We see the shot again, but this time her laughter is cut short by a blow to the head.]]

* FramingTheGuiltyParty: [[spoiler:the detective's sin, which he is concerned internal investigations will discover. Also, killer's rationale for framing the dead girl's boyfriend.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: The killer repeatedly expresses his wonder as to why the detective couldn't just admit to [[spoiler:shooting his colleague by mistake]], as it wouldn't have ended ''nearly'' as bad for him as being caught manipulating the investigation.

* FilleFatale: Katharine Isabelle's character in the remake. She's underaged, but she tries to flirt with Detective Dormer, who is clearly uninterested. But she's just as clearly used to using her body to get her way, so she doesn't notice. The whole reason he took her for a drive was to interrogate her later.

* FilleFatale: Katharine Isabelle's character in the remake. She's underaged, but she tries to flirt with Detective Dormer, who is clearly uninterested. The whole reason he took her for a drive was to interrogate her later.

* FilmNoir: A hard-boiled yet angst-ridden cop with a DarkAndTroubledPast he's trying to escape. Moral complications galore.

* AlasPoorVillain: In the end of the original, [[spoiler: Engström stops to contemplate Holt, who fell through a decayed pier as he tried to run away, breaking his neck and then slipping into the sea, as Holt slowly drowns]]. All in all, the killer is quite a bit more [[TheWoobie pathetic]] here than in the remake, where he is ever-so bit worse.

* ChekhovsGun: Engström's Beretta, literally, in the original. Since Norwegian police do not usually carry guns, he is the only officer at the scene who bears one (being a former Swedish policeman). This comes into play later when he [[spoiler: accidentally shoots his partner dead during the sting.]]

* DealWithTheDevil: The killer, having witnessed the detective [[spoiler: accidentally shooting his partner]], offers to remain silent on the matter if the detective agrees to help clear him of the girl's murder.

* FramingTheGuiltyParty: [[spoiler: the detective's sin, which he is concerned internal investigations will discover. Also, killer's rationale for framing the dead girl's boyfriend.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Engström in the original. He ends up getting away scot-free with shooting his own partner, fondling a minor, framing an innocent, forcing himself upon the receptionist, [[ShootTheDog and shooting a dog]]. Then again, it's implied that he might never get to sleep over it again.]]

** Though AlPacino has some short but memorable moments when he raises his voice.

* FilleFatale: Katharine Isabelle's character in the remake.

* UnfriendlyFire: Implied between [[spoiler: Dormer and Eckhardt]] in the remake, as questions arise as to whether it was truly an accident.

* OminousFog: In the remake, Dormer chases a suspect through foggy area.

* CulturalTranslation: Seen rather pointedly in the approaches of the police force in both films. In the Norwegian original, their hunt for the killer is carried out at a calm and laid-back pace and attitude (example: when he flees into the cabin, the police just ''walk'' after him), since (most of) the policemen don't carry guns, and don't expect the killer to carry one either. In the remake, all police show up reasonably well-armed and never break out of combat formation, since an armed suspect is seen as a succinct possibility.

* AlasPoorVillain: In the end of the original, [[spoiler: Engström stops to contemplate Holt, who fell through a decayed pier as he tried to run away, breaking his neck and then slipping into the sea, as Holt slowly drowns]]. All in all, the killer is quite a bit more [[TheWoobie pathetic]] here than in the remake, where he is ever-so bit closer to a CompleteMonster.

However, due the stress of the investigation, combined with an extreme case of insomnia brought on by the White Nights, he ends up committing a fatal error when he tries to hunt down the killer - a botchup that he, overwhelmed with his sleepless frenzy, tries to cover up.

* NotSoDifferent: The killer, a crime author himself, attempts this on the detective several times throughout the film - more subtly in the original, more overtly in the remake (at one point, he mentions that he's always had a great deal of respect for cops, and wanted to be one himself, though he couldn't pass the physical exam). In the original, this becomes for one increasingly apparent with both men's sexual frustrations shining through.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Engström in the original. He ends up getting away scot-free with shooting his own partner, fondling a minor, framing an innocent, forcing himself upon the receptionist, [[KickTheDog and shooting a dog]]. Then again, it's implied that he might never get to sleep over it again.]]
* KickTheDog: In the original, Engström shoots a neighbour's dog to forge a malformed bullet he could substitute for his own. In the remake, this is downplayed, as Dormer just shoots a dog's rotting cadaver.

* ShootTheDog: In the original version, a dog is shot to provide key evidence. In the remake, he shoots a dead dog.