Review of Insomnia (2002) by Aaron T — 25 Oct 2011

Another solid film by master director Christopher Nolan. Insomnia has a great cast, and an interesting location, especially since Alaska isn't used too often for police stories. Even though I don't normally like Pacino in his more recent films, he's actually perfect for this role.

..thankfully, he doesn't play it over the top like he's notoriously known for. He does a really good job of capturing the struggle of trying to accomplish something important while sleep deprived (as a college student, I can totally relate).

Anyway, the rest of the cast is great, especially Hillary Swank and Robin Williams. I'm not a fan of Swank generally...I can't tell if I like her or not as an actress, but she's really good here as a semi-protege' of Pacino's character.

I thought Robin Williams was an incredibly strange choice for a film like this, especially once I learned he plays the villain, yet he does such a good job here, it's hard to imagine anyone else in this role.

Insomnia is a thoroughly enjoyable, highly suspenseful film that blurs the line between sleep-deprived hallucination and reality, and between morally wrong and right decisions. Check this film out!