Will Dolmer (Al Pacino) and a co-partner are under Internal affairs investigation in LA, but they are shipped to Nightmute, Alaska to conduct a murder investigation of a 17 yr old girl.
This area of Alaska according to the movie has sunshine even in the night, and Will cannot get sleep and he is also tired and restless. However, in reality the movie was shot close to Squamish, British Columbia, a 1 hour drive from Vancouver.
They close in on a murder suspect Walter Finch (Robin Williams in a restrained but effective performance) a reclusive novelist.During a fog shrouded stakeout, Walter escapes and shots are fired and Will’s partner gets killed instead.
This consumes Will so much that guilt starts permeating inside and Walter intelligently uses psychological blackmail (calling and audio-taping a conversation etc) to manipulate him fully that his judgement gets clouded all the time.
The rest of the story defines how Will and walter both die but the truth comes out due to will’s promise to the local cop (Hillary swank) on his death bed to not suppress the evidence.
This movie had plenty of potential to become a thriller but the movie is shot in such a way that the whoddunit is known so early in the movie that the novelty wears out quickly.
The movie had fantastic natural scenes and would be a feast to the eyes on a large screen TV.