Review of Insomnia (2002) by Cameron J — 13 Jul 2012

If anyone can make a noir that has something to do with sleep interesting, then it's Christopher Nolan, though that might just be because he makes these films so blasted complicated that, after a while, even if you're not all that interested, you've got to submit and try to figure out just what in the world is going on, just so you can ease the pain of confusion. Well, either way, films like these are certainly more interesting than Nolan's "Batman" films. I really like Chris Nolan and I like his "Batman" films just fine, it's just that I like messing with the overrating nerds more. I wish that I could love them, or at least that's what I wished until Nolan came out with "Inception", which pretty much made up for his "Batman" films and, well, all of his genuinely good films, because "Inception" was Nolan above and beyond at his highest, not just in quality, but in level of convolution, because that film is so blasted convoluted that if Nolan were to actually step onto the screen next to DiCaprio, while doing his weird English-American mixed accent, then my head would have probably exploded, because that's just too much confusion for me to handle. Still, before Nolan handled dreams in "Inception" and before he was putting me to sleep with his "Batman" films (They weren't necessarily boring, they were just exhaustingly overblown... you nerds), he was having to deal with "Insomnia", which is ironic, because nowadays, the boy looks like he needs to get some sleep, though not quite as much as Al Pacino looks like he needs to get some sleep. Jeez, if you thought that De Niro was a committed method actor, his buddy Pacino has been keeping the insomina act going for about ten years now, which would explain why he looks so blasted tired and why he's been doing some lame films lately, because he's just too tired to know what disasters he's getting into. This film, however, is pretty awesome, though like actual insomniacs, after a while, it loses some steam.

When Chris Nolan gets a grip on storytelling, he can work wonders, but if the story structure doesn't entirely gel with, Nolan turns into an atmospheric mess, and while this film isn't as juiceless and bloated as Nolan's "Batman" films, it gets to be overbearing, and even rather uneven in tone, messily slipping back and forth between dialogue-intrigue-driven to borderline meditative, with one of the only consistencies between the two primary tones being, of course, messy handling. The more meditative spots are short on oomph and don't even have enough stylish hypnotism to compensate, thus creating some disengaging dullness, while the more immediate moments suffer from a flaw I'm more used to seeing in other films Nolan has atmospherically slipped up on (You guessed it kids: His "Batman" films), being overbearingly relentless in its intrigue, to the point of pushing the mystery well past its exhaustion point and leaving the film's steam to run thin, as there's not enough of a slow-down for the film to collect itself, and when this film finally does toss in a moment of exposition or subplot, the incorporation feels a bit crowbarred in the midst of the central mystery plot, which isn't to say that this film doesn't seriously need some exposition. Development feels rather lacking, and with Nolan overwhelming many of the more dialogue-driven moments with an overemphasis on the mystery, rather than the substance behind it, you rarely gain all that firm of a grip on the story and character, even though it's not entirely like you can't figure out who's who, being that you've probably seen this story and characters time and again, and I'm not just saying that because this film is a remake. The film has enough unique aspects to win you over more than certain other films of this type, even if some of your more refreshing ideas - from certain character behavior to the concept of their being a well-populated town that almost never sees night - feel a bit far-fetched, yet in many ways, this film still doesn't drift terribly far from its story and character conventions, sometimes glaringly so, and it doesn't help that a couple of bits of dialogue range from weak to downright pretty bad. Out of the gate, the film isn't quite as juicy as it should be, and as things continue to unravel, steam falls in and out far too often. Again, the film's title is a bit of an ironic one, not just because both Chris Nolan and Al Pacino look like they've been sleep deprived since they did this film, but because the film only really wakes you up here and there, and by the end, for all accounts, the film should have tapped out. However, the film stays in the game through and through, for all though it's about as messy as, well, [u]I[/u] would expect a Chris Nolan film of this type to be, it hits its marks much more than it slips by them, and the final product comes out pretty slick, and certainly stylish.

Wally Pfister returns for the first of many times as Chris Nolan's cinematographer and is as slick as he always is, not really taking your breath away throughout the film, but still laying out a kind of pale, handsome grit over the lighting that catches your eye and, under the right conditions, really plays with the atmosphere in an stylishly effective fashion, which isn't to say that the fine style of the film ends with something for your eyes to enjoy, as this film, like many of Nolan's, delivers ever so stylishly for, well, the ears. Nolan has almost always done wonders with his fine abilities to play with sound, and sure enough, while this film still doesn't quite have the immersive audible glory of "Inception" or even the cool improvised noise-score stuff in Nolan's "Batman" series (Hey, I still liked them, and for plenty of reasons), the sound design is slick and clever, manipulating the environment and such audible tension-setters as David Julyan's neatly creepy score work to sometimes plant you into the situation, thus creating any sensation from particularly deep intrigue to airtight tension. Still, all of this supplementary style is, well, supplementary, being mere spice-ups to the atmosphere that would be nothing with Nolan's direction, which, as I've said, gets to be an atmospheric mess, but really pierces when it works, whether it be during those chillingly tense thriller and action moments or during moments in which the film catches second wind with its more intrigue-driven moments - however excessive they may be -, thanks rather largely because of the complexities. Now, this film came along quite a bit before Nolan had mastered his skills at convoluting complexities, so don't go in expecting this to be as mind-boggling as the ending to "The Prestige", let alone as mind-boggling as every second or third plot point in "Inception", partially because this film really isn't all that twisty, yet do expect to find yourself really gripped as things unravel and raise as many questions as answers, as Nolan still works quite well with the complex structure of the mystery, shocking and engrossing you until, by the end, you're left with much to ponder upon. He may make a slip-up for every right move, but on the whole, Nolan keeps you going quite a bit and leaves you ultimately rewarded. Still, engaging the audience is a two-man job here, and as much as Robin Williams steals the show when he hits the scene playing a sociopath as sharply as always, the man other than Nolan who really keeps you engrossed through and through is, of course, Al Pacino, who is as charismatic as always, with moments of genuine depth, emotion and intensity that pierces into his Detective Will Dormer character and defines him, both as a strong central focus and as a reasonably fleshed-out person. Dormer is initially a competent man, but as he begins to face horrors, guilt, fear, problems with the case and, of course, his simply not being able to get some doggone sleep, he slips down as a still strong, but fairly challenged man, and while the limited development made by the story structure and storytelling dilutes the effectiveness of Dormer's layers, Pacino really brings the character and, by extension, his story to life, being one of the many engrossing and rewarding aspects to this still fairly spotty thriller.

Wrapping things up, there are plenty of conventions and the occasional spotty piece of dialogue, as well as a moderate degree of unevenness in the film's dance between meditative and immediate intrigue, yet consistency in both tones being rather messy, with the more meditative spots being rather dull and the more prevalent immediate spots being so overbearing that it leaves the incorporation of subplots to feel messy, much exposition to fall as limp as the immediate development and, of course, the overall film to lose steam now and again, yet Chris Nolan ultimately pulls you through, whether it be through his playing with fine visual and sound style or through his more inspired moments of atmosphere manipulation that create genuine tension at points, consistent intrigue and some thought-provoking complexities, and with an extra kick of engagement value coming from Robin Williams' stealing of the show with his creepy charisma and Al Pacino's owning of the show with his layered and enthrallingly inspired lead performance, Chris Nolan's "Insomnia" transcends its missteps and ultimately stands as a generally gripping, memorably complex psycho thriller.

3/5 - Good.