Insomnia

Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Nicky Katt
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Thriller
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: A police officer (Al Pacino) is sent to Alaska to investigate the murder of a teenage girl. While there, he enters into a dangerous battle with the killer. He gets help from a local police officer (Hilary Swank), but develops insomnia, and as the danger escalates, his lack of sleep makes him more and more unstable.

Review:

Tim:
Insomnia stars three Academy Award winners (Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank), is produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, and is directed by Christopher "Memento" Nolan- there is absolutely no way this movie could suck.

It is truly an intense and engaging thriller. The best part of the film is that it is set in Alaska when the sun shines 24 hours a day. Against this backdrop do we see our characters engaged in more or less your typical thriller. However, Nolan takes this one step further, having the lead character (Pacino), not sleep for six straight days due to insomnia. This lack of sleep messes with his mind and clouds his judgment. Now, your typical thriller has a new and exciting twist. We are in for a treat. The most entertaining aspects of the film are watching Pacino trying to cope with lack of sleep, trying to catch a cunning killer, and all the while plagued with guilt and fear about his own future.

Al Pacino is terrific as always. Robin Williams is really embracing his career turn as a bad guy and is plenty menacing and scary here. Hilary Swank doesn't have much to do, but offers a female counter to an otherwise male-dominated film. The cast really pushes this film up quite a few notches. The script and the direction are great, but the incredible performances of the cast are the reason for this film being so memorable.

Insomnia is an intelligent, original thriller that you will thoroughly enjoy. There are simply too many strong elements involved in this film for it not to be excellent.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Memento, One Hour Photo, Scent of a Woman, Heat, Million Dollar Baby