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Review: Insomnia
By Jack on May 21, 2002 12:36 PM

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Release Date: May 24th, 2002 (Friday)
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Written By: Nikolaj Frobenius, Erik Skjoldbjærg (1997 screenplay) Hillary Seitz (2002 screenplay)
Photography: Wally Pfister
Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney

After making one of the most unconventional thrillers in motion picture history (Memento), I am surprised by Christopher Nolan's' decision to "remake" the quite unusual 1997 Norwegian film Insomnia(1997) into a (Oscar)star-studded, high budget Hollywood thriller.

Insomnia follows a police detective (Al Pacino) who is sent from L.A. to investigate the murder of a teenage girl in a small Alaska town. During a chase he accidentally shoots his own partner while trying to apprehend a suspect. Instead of admitting his guilt, the detective is given an unexpected alibi, but this "solution" only multiplies the emotional complexity and guilt over his partner's death. He's also still got a murder to solve, in addition to the blackmail and framing of an innocent bystander being orchestrated by the man they were chasing. There's also a local detective (Hillary Swank) who is conducting her own personal investigation of his partner's death. That's when things start to happen.

The first thing that really stood out to me was Dody Dorn's editing style (quick cuts between angles) and the rich cinematography of Wally Pfister as the film opens with an incredible shot of a plane flying over an endless Alaskan icefield.

The plot would disappoint any one expecting a "new Memento," in that it does not have the sort of turns of action and motivation that Memento does. Insomnia works well without the glowingly popular late elaborate plot twists, and in a way it's mood benefits from a certain lack of ambiguity of action, although the ending is perhaps a little to predictable and cliched.

Al Pacino and Robin Williams are the keys to "Insomnia." Pacino is a fantastic actor and is able to convey the steadily increasing haggardness his character feels as he goes for days without sleep. You can feel the edginess and the sand-in-the-eyes feeling of the exhausted cop as he tries to cope with the constant, unrelenting daylight, sleeplessness and guilt over killing his partner.

Williams, continuing to pull away from his standard "red nose comedian" parts is in role unlike any other he's ever played, and he gets it right. It becomes strange watching the man that personified goofy comedy improv perform in an edgy, dark roles that is totally out of his normal comedy characters.

Conclusion: Christopher Nolan has once again with well cast actors and actresses demonstrated his remarkable ability as a director and storyteller. This movie is worth the ticket. I give it at 8.5/10

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Reader Discussions:

thanks great review

Posted by Yakobusan (spam@mysan.de) on May 21, 2002 9:41 PM

i am sure gonna watch this movie
always wanted to see williams in a non-funny role :)