Since I’d already seen Christopher’s Nolan 2002 remake, it was a challenge to watch this with an eye to enjoying it on its own merits, rather than making regular comparisons to the later incarnation. With that disclaimer, the original, while flawed in ways, ultimately satisfies as a psychological thriller/drama.

Set in Northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle, where in summer the sun never really sets, Swedish investigator Jonas Engström (Stellan Skarsgård), who seems to have a checkered past, is brought in to investigate a murder. Exactly why he’s brought in is not entirely clear (surely Norway has qualified detectives of their own?), but whatever the reason it happens quickly, because he makes it in time for the autopsy. A teenaged girl has been murdered, and her killer was diligent in covering his tracks.

This isn’t a whodunit—we know who the killer is in due course—but a psychological study of a man broken down by a variety of ailments, both external and internal. Engström’s insomnia is the result of a mixture of the land’s midnight sun and his guilt over an act committed in the course of chasing down the killer, one that ultimately makes him complicit in the killer’s continuing freedom and the accusation of an innocent man. Skarsgård is convincing enough as a man who finds himself trapped by guilt, although the final result is not wholly satisfying—in the end he gets an easy out—and the lingering final shot is just too unsubtle. There are enough compelling moments to recommend the film, but the overall effect is not likely to keep you up too long into the night.