Insomnia

Al Pacino's character looked tired when he arrived in the Alaskan town. As he attempts to reconcile a serious mistake, he grows wearier and wearier. Enter Robin Williams, a sociopath who plays a cat and mouse game with Pacino. Balance that against the perceptive and admiring Hillary Swank and a lot of baggage from Pacino, and you have the ingredients for a terrific thrill a minute film. I found myself rooting for the Pacino character even though there is a level of dishonesty that will be hard to reconcile. He must cover some huge tracks. There are some issues with Williams' ability to know things that are a little far fetched. Many villains fall into that gap, but that's OK. We take him for what he is. It's an engaging movie.

I didn't know that 'Insomnia' was based on a Norwegian movie of the same title. Otherwise, I would have watched the original film first. What convinced me to watch this one was the cast that included three super-talented actors and the director Christopher Nolan ('loved his 'Memento'). Thus, my comment is pretty much just about the movie rather than how it compares to the original.

There's really a lot to like about. This isn't merely a 'catch-the-bad-guy' thriller but a character driven psychological drama. It starts as a who done it, then turns into a how done it to why done it to what are you going to do about it. While it is the complex characters that stand out, the details of the murder case(s) are very well presented and the layered twists add well to the plot. 'Insomnia' is fascinating to look at. The production design is of very high quality and the cinematography is breathtaking. The attention to detail and the emphasis of the visuals that make the viewer experience Dormer's sleep deprived world is stunning. Incidentally, I was watching it very late at night and perhaps that is the best time to watch it.

Nolan's style of execution is remarkable. Daylight is used very effectively as a character of its own. In a way, it's the antagonist of the movie that leads to Dormer's mental 'deterioration'. It's a dark movie set in constant daylight. Then there's the clever use of fog and floating logs which in a way act as pathetic fallacies. Blood also plays a symbolic role. The quietness of a cold and gloomy Alaska is both intense and chilling.

Al Pacino proves again what an excellent actor he is. It's amazing how he eerily looks the part with bags under his eyes, a clumsy gait, stooped shoulders and a continuous expression of fatigue while he dives into the depth of an extremely complex character. Robin Williams skillfully downplays his part as the latently manipulative Finch as he takes advantage of Dormer's vulnerability. Hillary Swank brings an air of freshness as the rookie detective who also has to make a difficult decision towards the end. Maura Tierney makes very good use of her few scenes.

On the flip side, it may seem as though 'Insomnia' loses focus in some scenes as it appears to derail. Of course there are different ways of looking at this. The ending feels rushed and is very predictable. Also Williams's Finch could have been more developed considering the important role he has. Nonetheless, it's a well-made film. I intend to watch the Norwegian version to see how it compares but on its own, Nolan's 'Insomnia' is a fascinating experience and the cast and crew deserve all the praise for finally putting it all together.

I was really looking forward to this film, and I'm glad to say that I wasn't the least bit disappointed. First of all, I was glad to see Al Pacino on screen again. It seems like it's been a while since I've seen him on screen. I think the last film he was in was "Any Given Sunday." Pacino yet again delivers a brilliant performance, strapping the audience in for a wild ride through the emotionally scarred mind of Detective Will Dormer. It seemed like I could feel his every emotion throughout the course of the movie. Because this is a character-driven story that revolves around Dormer, his pain, anguish and guilt on account of accidentally taking his partner's life, constant insomnia and subsequent threats by his nemesis, played by Robin Williams as a writer of trashy detective novels who's fascinated by Dormer and blackmails him by threatening to spill out the secret of Dormer shooting his partner. As for Robin Williams, he is fully convincing as the reclusive novelist/murderer of a 17-year-old girl. I suspected, from the trailers, that he'd play a serial killer. I wouldn't exactly classify his character as a serial killer, but he is the antagonist and a murderer and Williams plays the role perfectly, never underplaying it and never overplaying it. He could've went over-the-top, playing a totally ruthless killer who cackles at the thought of murdering someone in cold blood. Though he's not our sympathetic character, you do feel sympathy for him at times. And I like how the story creates this little cat-and-mouse game between the two characters, each one plagued by skeletons in the closet. Oscar-winner Hilary Swank delivers another fine performance, and I was stunned to see how amazingly attractive she looks, after having seen her gender-bending role as Brandon Teena in "Boys Don't Cry."

Christopher Nolan is the acclaimed director of "Memento" and he scores yet again, with this beautifully constructed thriller. I was intrigued from start to finish. Nolan's use of lighting is dark and murky, wonderfully setting the noirish tone. Nolan shows great promise as an up-and-coming director, and with a good outlet he can possibly become the next Kubrick. I greatly look forward to seeing his next project, whenever that may be.

I recommend "Insomnia" to anyone who loved Nolan's previous "Memento" or anyone who simply enjoys a great, multi-faceted mystery/thriller that will keep you guessing at every turn. I think it's too early to vote this movie as one of the best films of 2002, but it's a possible candidate. We don't see too many "great" films anymore, and whenever they're out there it's good to take advantage.

My score: 9 (out of 10)

As said in my reviews for his masterpiece 'Memento' and the fascinating 'The Prestige', Christopher Nolan has always struck me as a very talented film-maker, and most of his films are ones that have impressed me a lot. Even weaker efforts, where his ambition can get in the way, have a good deal to admire. His films are all impeccably crafted technically, and often entertaining and thought-provoking, also knowing how to get good performances out of talented casts.

'Insomnia' is not one of Nolan's best films, but not his worst. For me it's somewhere in the middle if ranking his films, 'Memento' being his best and, while with a lot of impressive elements, 'Interstellar' being the one that impressed least. It shows fidelity to the Norwegian original, but doesn't go so far that it's a pale retread, in a way that is summed up very well by Roger Ebert.

Nolan directs with impeccable style and sense of atmosphere, as well as an ability to tell a potentially convoluted story with clarity without resorting to excess and over-ambition. Much of 'Insomnia' is exceptionally well made, while beautiful Alaska has rarely been more oppressive as well while the cinematography has grit and class. David Julyan's music score is not quite as complex as that for 'Memento', but has a very effective eeriness.

The script is tight and thoughtful, and the story, filled with neat twists and turns, is hugely compelling and atmospheric, never being too simple but complex enough to still be understandable and be respectful to the viewer. The cat and mouse stuff could have been predictable and convoluted but executed in masterly hair-raising but also quiet tension.

Performances are all strong across the board. While underused somewhat, Martin Donovan and especially Hilary Swank are great here. It is however Al Pacino and Robin Williams who are even better. Pacino gives perhaps his best performance since 'Heat' and he has to me definitely not been on this amount of blistering form as he is in 'Insomnia'. Williams is cast against type, and he plays a genuinely terrifying character with menace but also dignity and restraint.

Flaws are only a couple, with the film ending too conveniently and some of the editing being a touch too jumpy.

All in all, a gripping film and hardly a sleeper. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I erred in giving into temptation to watch the original Norwegian "Insomnia" on IFC just a couple of weeks before seeing this Hollywood re-make directed by indie-credible "Memento" Christopher Nolan with a very effective Academy Award-winning cast.

The original movie had a tiny budget and also an excellent cast, led by the terrific Swede Stellan Skarsgård, growing as pale as that relentless sunshine during the course of the film; the usually haggard-looking Al Pacino interprets his insomnia visually through an ever more haggard face.

Though the original film isn't given as the source material until well into the closing credits, this follows the main thrust of the story closely. The changes, though, are both subtle and significant and intriguingly as American as Sam Spade when the mise en scene gets moved to Alaska (actually shot in Vancouver). Significantly, there is less sex and more morality.

Hilary Swank's character is more naive than her counterpart; Martin Donovan's character's role is more central to the story and, of course, Robin Williams gets more screen time than his original counterpart, as the conflict is less in the lead's mind and more on the screen as a duel. The plot twists are done differently so I shamefully got confused between the two movies.

While not as overwhelming as the original, I do think this version should rank right up with the great detective/cop-does-the-right-thing movies, and the plot makes more sense than "The Big Sleep."

(originally written 6/16/2002)