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Rating:  - "Wild card!"
2002's "Insomnia" is one of the most quietly melancholy American movies I've ever seen--all the characters (with the exception of Hillary Swank's annoyingly idealistic female detective Ellie Burr) are somehow grimy and have something to hide.
Robin Williams plays a really good creep. "One Hour Photo" was a movie with a lot of potential that ultimately went nowhere, but he sure makes up for it here as the effeminate failed writer and murderer of a 17 year old girl. Williams successfully underplays the role of a neurotic psychopath (Walter Finch) whose pathos we see emerge in the smallest and most pivotal moments, thereby making them even more disturbing.
The cinematography is damn near perfect--the Alaskan wilderness is a perfect backdrop for Det Will Dormer's (Al Pacino) psychological meltdown and inability to sleep. The time zone and his entire life is closing in on him slowly: a previous investigation in which he planted evidence to convict another child killer is beginning to catch up with him. On top of this, his younger partner (Martin Donovan) is forced to make a deal with internal affairs about the matter. As if things could get worse, he accidentally shoots and kills him in a foggy gun battle where Finch is lurking.
He is then forced to sink so low as to collaborate with Finch himself, who orchestrated the incident precisely for control of not only his fate but Dormer's. The whole theme of dishonesty, even in the service of a just cause, gracefully winds around Dormer's neck like a noose. The ending is as devastating as the entire film, with Swank's character given the hope of redemption out of all this corruption. A must see.
Rating: - reveals disturbing themes
This movie takes all my assumptions about writers and police work and puts these themes together in a manner that coincides with disturbing psychological disorientation. Once the writer starts sucking up as much danger as he can make contact with, the plot is twisted enough to make all the confusion expected instead of surprising, but if you pay attention, you can twist in the wind right along with it.
Rating:  - An Very Good Pacino Vehicle
"Insomnia" is a 2002 film that explores the inner workings of a top detective (Al Pacino as Wll Dormer) as he nears the end of a brillant career as a police investigator, who is so feed up with the obviously guilty going free that he's starting to compromise his vaulted integrity to make sure justice is done.
The wild beauty of the Alaskian landscape should have gotten second-billing behind Pacino, as it plays an intregral in several parts of the movie. As it is, Hilary Swank, Robin Williams and Paul Dooley are memorable in their roles as an eager police detective, a murder suspect, and the crusty local police chief, respectively.
How does it all mesh? Well, indeed, as an increasingly tired Dormer (played well, as usual, by Pacino) careens from mistake to coverup, until he has a change of heart, salvaging his career along the way.
However, Amazon lists this as an 'essential video'. It's a good movie, but it's not in the league of, say, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, The Seven Samuri, and so on.
I'd rate this a four-star film. Recommended, primarily of Pacino's usual excellent acting. Williams is also notable for his low-keyed, everyman, but chilly, role.
Rating:  - Not good.
Just the fact that Al Pacino's insomniac character is named "Will Dormer" is enough to relegate this movie to the trash heap. "Dormer" meaning "to sleep" in French, so, "a will to sleep". Gah!
Without commenting on the story itself, which is bound to appeal to some people and not others, I just want to say that all three principals in this mess overacted within inches of their lives.
Rating: - A first rate thriller from Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan's third feature film (Following, Memento (Widescreen Two-Disc Limited Edition)) is as good as his first two. A great thriller among the best in the genre.
Will Dormier (Al Pacino) goes to Alaska to investigate the murder of a 17 year old girl.
The movie stars not only one Oscar winner in Al Pacino, but two others in Hilary Swank and Robin Williams. The rest of the cast is also excellent.
A highly recommended movie for all Nolan, Pacino, Swank, and Williams fans. And for all fans of suspense thrillers. You won't be disappointed.
Be sure to also check out:
Batman Begins (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Prestige
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