InSight

InSight is not a film that is easily forgotten nor brushed over. It starts off with some pretty extreme circumstances, we learn through fast cuts and dialogue that a girl named Allison Parks has been brutally attacked and we don't know why. Neither does the main character in the film, Kaitlyn, who plays one of the nurses trying to save Allison's life, as she is suffering from multiple stab wounds. Kaitlyn thinks for a moment that Allison is trying to communicate with her in some way, but before Kaitlyn can find out much, a defibrillator shocks Allison and she dies. The electricity travels through Allison's body and knocks out Kaitlyn, who then begins to see memories from Allison's life or so we are lead to believe for much of the film.

The uniqueness of InSight is how in which the story is told. Methodically, as slowly we learn more and less at the same time. I imagine it's hard for an audience to piece together what is real and what is only in Kaitlyn's mind, and I imagine that's the whole point. We struggle as the main character does to try and figure out whether Allison's murder was a random killing or something more. Along the way we are introduced to a skeptical detective, Kaitlyn's sick mother, a sleazy psychiatrist, and Allison's ex-boyfriend, all of these characters add to the mystery. None of them confirm for the audience on which end of the spectrum the story will end. Whether or not this was just a random killing and Kaitlyn is just hallucinating these memories, or there's something more to this murder, and Kaitlyn is the only one who can figure it out.

Richard Gabai directs this thriller in a way that allows the audience to piece-by-piece figure things out with the characters. By the end it's really up for interpretation what the truth is. If you see this with a friend, you will be discussing it long after the credits roll.

So many things wrong with this movie. Cheap sets, boring story, mostly mediocre to poor acting, with an annoying lead character

The story is a typical Lifetime woman-in-jeopardy film. (Is this a Lifetime movie?) A nurse (Natalie Zea) touches a dying (dead?) woman, and thinks she has a psychic connection with the woman. Zea then believes that the woman was killed by someone she knew (a lover?), and not by a random mugger, as the police think.

Zea gives a dreadful performance. She's playing the heroine, yet she's wholly unsympathetic. Pushy, mouthy, and annoying. Writers will do that. They think that if their character is on the side of right, anything they do is justified. So Zea follows people, self-righteously pushing herself into strangers' lives, because she's a self-appointed crusader. (She later freaks out when the stranger pushes back into her life.) She breaks into the dead woman's apartment and steals evidence. She later haughtily tells the police, "Well, somebody has to investigate, since you're not doing your job." (Actually, they are.)

The lead detective is almost as annoying. He becomes Zea's love interest. He's a typical "bad movie" cop. He beats up and threatens a suspect AFTER he knows the suspect is innocent, simply because the suspect upset Zea. We're supposed to be rooting for the cop, because, hey, what a tough cop! And we're supposed to sympathize with him and Zea, because they're lovers seeking justice, whereas the suspect is (supposedly) a lowlife, even if he is technically innocent.

There is a "surprise" ending, but so what.

I watched this film because it had Juliet Landau in it, but she only has a tiny cameo.

I rarely stop watching movies in the middle, but couldn't watch this for more than 20 minutes. It's absolutely awful.

Horrible acting. The main actress is not particularly likable. Most supporting actors are even worse.

Horrible dialog lines trying to shoehorn explanations of what's going on. Unfortunately can't judge the script, since I couldn't finish watching this.

Ridiculously bad production. Random s**t covering scenes as the camera moves. Color balance jumping from bright blue to bright yellow between the scenes. Sound quality in outdoor scenes is garbage.

Do not recommend.

Insight is one of the most exciting films I've seen in a long time. From the first beat to the last, my heart was racing with inexplicable and unexpected excitement, a feeling shared by others I talked to afterwards. The story grabs you right away, and you hang on for the ride until you get dumped off on your butt at the end, blinking and wondering what the heck just happened. You immediately want to see it again to catch all the subtleties you know you missed the first time around! This fast-paced flick is a multi-dimensional thrill- ride layered with subtle psychological/philosophical/sociological twists and turns that intrigue the viewer all the way to the end and leaves you unsure of what dimension you've arrived at and what conclusion to draw. The direction, camera work, acting and chemistry are right on target; characters exude mystery,pathos, loyalty, betrayal, lechery all leading to the question of Who Killed Allison Parks?! See this film and you will not be disappointed!

This movie kept me guessing throughout the entire movie. This wasn't intended to be the easy, mass-marketed schlock where you can figure it all out and they spell the ending out for you in the end, in case you don't have a brain or any imagination. This is one you want to go back and watch again to see if you can catch any more clues. It's a dark story with a generous helping of hope, decent to good acting and I have always had a thing for Sean Patrick Flannery, so that never hurts in my book. My only real complaint is that the camera-work and lighting sometimes got a little too artsy for my tastes. Oh, that and it's tough to see Juliet Landau as anyone not evil/insane.