Review of Insomnia (2002) by Sumanjit R — 18 Dec 2012
Director Christopher Nolan was still in warm mode when he made the follow up to his excellent debut, Memento. The film perhaps misses the touch of his pen as this was the only time he has adapted a screenplay in which he didn't have a hand. It might be wrong to judge Insomnia by the heights that Nolan would go on to achieve with Inception and his Batman films as there is nothing majorly wrong with it, it is a very solid mystery thriller.
Fusing Twin Peaks with Seven, the movie finds Al Pacino's burnt out L.A. detective posted to Alaska to investigate the murder of a young girl while he himself is coming under the microscope from internal affairs. A terrible accidental shooting sees Pacino slay his own partner/babysitter and leads to him coming unwound in a blur of sleeplessness brought on by guilt, the hunger to catch the girls killer and the ever present light of Alaska.
The Twin Peaks influence is obvious from the story set up and the stunning remoteness of the Alaskan town where the film is set. Nolan already had an excellent eye for sweeping and majestic cinematography and the location plays a big part in making Insomnia rather eerie at times.
Pacino is on good form though far from a career best. He is upstaged by the films villain, a playing against type Robin Williams. Williams is genuinely creepy as the killer of the piece though he does lack chemistry with Pacino. The two only really share one big scene together and it can't hold a torch to the moment when Pacino meets Robert De Niro in Heat.
Hilary Swank is fine as the Pacino's plucky, fan girl police officer. She's the presence of light in a film where the two leads are quite dark. Katharine Isabelle's role as the dead girl's best friend is all too brief for this reviewers liking.
Nolan has constructed a fine thriller in Insomnia but for some reason it just feels like it ought to have been a bit better. The pieces are all there but at times the film feels flabby and pedestrian, while the conclusion feels a little flat. There are some great scenes along the way, the moment when Pacino shoots his partner in a mist shrouded valley is very well done but it means that the film pea.
Ks early.
Insomnia is tied with The Prestige for Chris Nolan's poorest film to date, but when this is your worst effort, you've not got much to grumble about.
This review of Insomnia (2002) was written by Sumanjit R on 18 Dec 2012.
Insomnia has generally received very positive reviews.
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