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.

First off, Christopher Nolan is one of my biggest influences when it comes to film and screen writing. With films such as Following and Memento, both of which reached cult following levels, he is well on his way to a successful Hollywood career. Then, today came, his 3rd film was released, Insomnia. Based on a 1997 Norwegian film written by Nikolaj Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjærg, Insomnia is a true work of art in the world of film.

Christopher Nolan takes all that was the 1997 film, and brings it to the next level, using his own style of directing, a musical score with shades of Memento, and an all star cast. Al Pacino and Robin Williams pulls out the greatest performances of their careers in the past decade, if not in their ENTIRE careers in my eyes.

Pacino once again excels in the role of master dective, while Williams takes this chance to show his "dark side", and he does it so well. I can only hope that this is a rebirth of Robin Williams, and as it stands with his upcoming film One Hour Photo (which he once again plays a dark, psychotic role), it seems to be just that! Hilary Swank also pulls out what is the greatest role of her career.

Insomnia brings you in as an audience, with it's perfectly woven plot, with a film noir feel to it, just as Nolan's first two films. It is a rollercoster ride of drama and suspense as you watch Al Pacino from the very beginning unravel, and the rest of the story and his past catches up with him. I can not say much more about it, as I do not wish to spoil anything about if for you, but I do want to say this... ...go see it, right now, and enjoy. If you love crime/mystery/drama films with that wonderful Film Noir feel to it, you will love this film. If that isn't your thing, then the performances of the three main actors are worth the price of a ticket in itself.

Finally I just want to say, that Insomnia proves once and for all that Christopher Nolan will indeed be a force to reckoned with in Hollywood. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... ...Christopher Nolan is well on his way to becoming the Hollywood legend which he proves he is capable of becoming.

Christopher Nolan succeeds once again at mastering a suspenseful script into a truly superb film. Nolan (Memento) creates a complex and carefully construed tale that has plenty of intentional misdirection that is quite convincing.

Al Pacino plays another one of his droopy detectives in a role that is quite unoriginal if placed in other films. Yet what separates this role from others is his portrayal of L.A. Detective Will Dormer actually has some 'meat' attached to it. Pacino plays a detective with a history of successful apprehensions, yet, he has flaws just like any other person and they come back to haunt him. Relocated from Los Angeles to Alaska, he is sent in hopes of capturing a killer who murdered a local schoolgirl.

Judging from the previews, premature assumptions can be made labeling the film as another simple 'cat-and-mouse' thriller. Instead, those conceptions will be lost soon after the haunting opening credits emerge and we are transplanted directly into a deep and complex character study set against the backdrop of a local homicide mystery in a small Alaskan town. The film's antagonist (For those who have seen the film - is he really the villain or the catalyst for Pacino's ethical debate?) is a local writer portrayed by Robin Williams. This is Williams' second villainous role in his trilogy of films (Death to Smoochy, One Hour Photo) that aims at diversifying his resume. Williams impresses as he juxtaposes between an innocent victim of a mishap and between a calculating and conniving murderer.

Director Nolan has assembled a terrific cast as this complex plot unfolds at a frivolous rate. This is a film that a discerning viewer will admire and a viewer with a short attention span will loathe. Nolan tosses us with one set of objectives and midway through the first act, we are sitting in on an entirely different film. Adjectives such as formulaic and conventional should not be associated with a film such as this. Nolan has completely revitalized the tired genre of the murder thriller with his sleek direction and picturesque photography.

Nolan first had conceived of the idea upon viewing a Norwegian film of the same name directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg. Nolan seems to have taken the flaws of the original and improved upon them in a sleek feat of filmmaking that leaves much to be questioned about its' brilliance. One viewing is not enough to internalize the level of sophistication Nolan has created with this brilliant film.

Hillary Seitz's first attempt at writing a screenplay is solid but must be understood that the conception was not hers. Still, her script contains some juicy scenes that benefit all our characters in this film. Three Oscar winners (Pacino, Williams and Hillary Swank) highlight this film and with good reason. At first glance, the cast seems informingly incongruent, yet with time, all explains itself. Swank's performance as Detective Burr seems unnecessary right up until the final moments in the film. Yet, this is all of the resolute brilliance Nolan lends to this film.

This film succeeds on several levels of cinematic bravura. David Julyan's haunting score coupled with intense subliminal flashes match the films' dark tone and Cinematographer Wally Pfister (Memento) captures the majestic beauty of the Alaskan sea front.

As aforementioned, a thrilling chase of a murderer can be expected when introduced to the film. But not long after, we are delving into a debate that has a positive fix on morality. A battle between a person's conscience and his actions are truly at the forefront of this intellectually intriguing and complex thriller. Despite its' disappointing anticlimactic finale, the film still has enough zest and brilliance to make this film a true testament to the skill of Director Nolan.

Giancarlo's Rating: ***

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