“Insomnia” isn’t your typical murder mystery. In fact, it’s not really a mystery at all considering the main character finds out who the killer is in the beginning of the movie. It does sort-of play out like a mystery, with its intriguing plot twists and shocking discoveries at every corner, but the movie is about a lot more than that. A lot more that I won’t talk about in this review, because trust me, your better off finding out on your own. Let me make one thing perfectly clear though. “Insomnia” is good. Very good.
The movie takes place in the land of the midnight sun, Nightmute, Alaska, where veteran cop, “Will Dormer,” is assigned to help newcomer “Ellie Burr” solve a brutal murder. “Dormer’s” younger, more resilient partner is also new to the job, and unlike “Dormer,” he is driven by courage and an effort to do the right thing, while “Dormer” is driven by fear, exhaustion, and an effort to get the job done quickly. He hasn’t been able to sleep in days and he wonders how much longer he can go on. “Dormer” also claims that the reason he can’t sleep is because of the brightness at night, and although that is a factor, the audience learns that the main reason he can’t sleep is because his grief-stricken conscience won’t let him.
Something I really enjoyed about this movie is the dark, atmospheric effect it creates on the viewer that keeps the film in the mellow tone it should be(to properly showcase “Will Dormer’s” feelings of exhaustion) and at the same time keeps the viewer anticipating what’s gonna happen next. I think it works out great and a lot of the thanks should go to the excellent cast. I was a fan of two of the main stars before I saw “Insomnia,” and now I’m a fan of all three of them. I’ve always liked Al Pacino(one of the best actors working today.....”Michael Corleone” in “The Godfather Trilogy”) and I’ve always defended Robin Williams even though nobody else thinks he’s a great actor(he’s been in a lot of movies, including the movie adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”) but I never really saw Hilary Swank before this. She’s supposed to be great in the supposedly great movie, “Boys Don’t Cry,” but I never really took the time to see it. I plan to see it soon though to see what all the fuss is about. Regardless of whether or not I saw it though, I now know for sure that Hilary Swank is a great actress. All three of the main roles are played by Academy Award winners. Robin Williams won a Best Supporting Actor Award for “Good Will Hunting,” Al Pacino won the Best Actor Oscar in 1993 for “Scent of a Woman” and Hilary Swank won Best Actress for “Boys Don’t Cry.” All three did an amazing job in this movie and the supporting roles were very good too, so I think it’s safe to say the acting is excellent in this flick.
A lot of you may or may not know this, but I think I should mention it anyway. Actor George Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh started their own production company, and they’re both listed as executive producers of this movie, which suggests that their production company was involved with the making of this film. For those of you who don’t know, Steven Soderbergh is the Academy Award winning director of “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Out of Sight,” both of which starred Clooney. He’s also responsible for directing “Traffic” and “Erin Brockovich.” Considering both Steven Soderbergh’s and George Clooney’s earlier work, I think we can expect some good films from their production company in the future.
“Insomnia” was directed by Christopher Nolan, a very talented director whose last film was “Memento,” which seems to be developing into a cult classic. I have a confession to make though. As much as I wanted to, I never saw “Memento.” Everybody says it’s great and I’ve always found it to be quite interesting, but I’ve never been able to make time to see it. A new Special Edition DVD for the film has just been released and I think I’m just gonna trust my instincts and purchase it next time I have the money, and I’ll be sure to let you know what I think as soon as I do. It’s supposed to be better than this film, so I expect it to be an awesome movie. Hopefully, I won’t be let down.
Dammit! Why do I have such a tendency to get off-topic while writing a review? Sorry about that, I’ll try to focus on “Insomnia” now....as soon as I go get a drink. Has anybody tried that new “Propel Fitness Water” thing? Boy, does it taste like crap.
Anyway, like I said before, “Insomnia” was directed by Christopher Nolan, and I’m pretty sure this is his third film(before “Memento” he directed a little-known independent film called “Following”). Nolan does a fantastic job directing this flick. He does some awesome stuff with strange flashback sequences and hypnotic close-ups that let you see the film like if you really are “Will Dormer.” Seriously though, the film is beautifully shot and it’s fascinating how little things like extreme close-ups can go on to mean so much. The film plays tricks with your mind and the directing has a lot to do with that, so because of that, Christopher Nolan deserves a lot of credit.
As for the script, it was very well-written by Hillary Seitz(her debut), and it was adapted from the original screenplay by Nikolai Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjaerg(not a typo, that’s actually his last name). As many of you probably already know, “Insomnia” is a remake of a 1997 Norweigian film directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg, who later went on to direct a small American film you might’ve heard of called “Prozac Nation.” I never saw it, but it seems interesting to me so I might do so in the near future. Plus, the cast stars some pretty good actors including Christina Ricci(she’s been in a few crappy movies lately including “Bless the Child,” but I still remember her being very good in “Casper”) and Jason Biggs(the pie-molester from both “American Pie” movies).
I highly recommend that you see “Insomnia.” It’s the best detective movie I’ve seen in a long time and it kinda reminds me of “Seven” for some reason. It’s chilling, and it keeps you glued to your seat from beginning to end. The performances are excellent, the directing is incredibly well-done, and the screenplay is top-notch. It’s only real problem is that it tends to drag a bit, and I found myself looking at my watch a few times during some unnecessarily slow scenes. Then again, I really needed to use the restroom towards the end of the film so that might’ve been the reason. Either way, “Insomnia” is a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed and at the same time made me think. So, go see it! Hopefully, you’ll like it as much as I did.
On a scale of 1-10: 9
