Rating: 
Summary: "Insomnia" will keep your eyes open
Review: Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" is, without a doubt, one of the best films so far this year. It is a great follow up to his brilliant work on "Memento", and in my opinion, "it is even better. Christopher Nolan proves with this film that he can make a smart, creepy, and brilliant thriller with a big budget and cast and still keep his creative style completely. I now consider him to be one of the best directors working today and I believe that he has a long future of great films ahead of him. Al Pacino and Robin Williams give some of their best work to date with this film. I was completely fascinated at how both of these high profile actors could play characters such unique and troubled characters. They both pull it off very nicely. Hillary Swank does a fair job in her role, she is convincing as a rookie cop who looks up to Pacino's character. Screenwriter Hillary Seitz has produced as memorable work of writing with crisp, clever dialouge. This film was great and I strongly recommend it. Hopefully when Oscar season starts, the Academy will not forget this brilliant work.
Rating: 
Summary: Formula Boredom at It's Best
Review: After reading a rave review in the main Richmond, VA newspaper, I set out to see this movie, expecting something engaging and thrilling. Instead, I left feeling disgusted and cheated even at matinee prices. Al Pacino is a fine actor; however, this movie did little to bring out the vitality he's shown in so many other movies. Instead, the viewer is treated to dialogue so wooden, you want to light a fire under it and run screaming from the theatre. Expect dialogue such as the following: "The jury hasn't ever seen a child killer, PAUSE.... but I have. BIG PAUSE...." Robin Williams presents some fine moments, but they aren't able to rescue the movie from itself. I knew it would be difficult for Christopher Nolan to repeat the magic that "Momento" brought to viewers. However, I wasn't expecting this to be so formulaic and frustratingly unoriginal. If you want snappy dialogue and interesting characters, do yourself a favor and skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Nightmares and sleeplessness plague a troubled cop.
Review: "Insomnia" is one of those rare movies that resonate in your mind long after you leave the theater. It is a wonderful ensemble effort, with Al Pacino as the standout in an excellent cast. Pacino's performance is his finest in years, and it adds to the luster of an already legendary acting career. Pacino plays Will Dormer, a veteran cop who, along with his partner, Hap Eckhart, is under investigation by Internal Affairs in Los Angeles for alleged misconduct on the job. Dormer and Hap temporarily escape from their troubles by flying to Nightmute, Alaska, to help a former colleague investigate the brutal murder of a seventeen-year-old girl. Suddenly, Hap confides to Will that he intends to cooperate with the authorities in Internal Affairs and cut a deal, which horrifies Dormer. Not only will Dormer's stellar career end in ruins, but his closed cases may also be reopened and convictions may eventually be overturned. Dormer's troubles are just beginning. During a chase scene in which Dormer, Hap and the Nightmute cops are on the heels of the killer, Dorner accidentally shoots his partner in a dense fog. The questions is, was the shooting really an accident? Was Dormer, either consciously or subconsciously, looking for a way to make sure that Hap would never have the opportunity to cut a deal with Internal Affairs? This is one of the many moral dilemmas that this complex film raises. Things go from bad to worse. Dormer blames the shooting on the killer, a writer named Walter Finch, played with quiet and understated menace by Robin Williams. Unfortunately for Dormer, Finch witnessed him shooting Hap, and the killer offers to cut a deal of his own with Dormer. If Dormer blames the girl's murder on her brutal boyfriend, Finch will not turn Dormer in for shooting his partner. All this makes for an intricate and intelligent film, beautifully photographed in British Columbia, with an excellent use of blinding light that contrasts with the dark emotions churning in the main characters. The film builds in intensity as the action progresses. Pacino is fabulous as a man who has gone astray. He has spent decades as a policeman and genuinely loves his job, but he has cut too many corners and it is too late to regain his lost innocence. The scenes between him and Robin Williams are terrific. Williams considers himself Dormer's equal. Both men have a great deal to hide and both men in some ways consider themselves above the law. Since Finch is a writer of crime thrillers, he thinks of himself as something of an expert on the criminal justice system, as well. Will Dormer take the low road once again, and cooperate with Finch in order to save his own career? Hilary Swank is wonderful as the starry eyed Ellie Burr, a promising rookie cop who worships Dormer for his stellar reputation, until she finds out that her hero has feet of clay. Adding to the ambiance of the movie are the striking scenes depicting Dormer's insomnia. He cannot get used to the sun shining late throughout the night in Alaska, and he goes for days without sleep. As Pacino's mental state deteriorates, he becomes more and more disoriented and tortured. He has a guilty conscience, and he has no idea how he can extricate himself from the mess that he has gotten himself into. Christopher Nolan's expert direction and the solid performances by a fine cast make "Insomnia" one of the year's best films so far. Look for an Oscar nomination for Pacino. He is perfectly cast as a man whose moral center has shifted, and he has no idea whether he can ever find his way back.
Rating:
Summary: Gone are the days
Review: Before I start, I must admit to not seeing the fascination with Memento, I thought it was a decent movie, but the amount of attention and adoration that it got surprised me completely, I thought it was a pretty good genre film that had some interesting parts but mostly relied on a gimmick. Christopher Nolan, the brit responsible for the direction of that movie moved from that to this film, a remake of a Norwegian thriller which I wanted so see a while ago, but the [local] video store didn't have it(surprise, surprise). Anyway, this film pretty much confirmed my suspicions, Nolan is a pretty average filmmaker who can use gimmicks to make a compelling film, but can't make a compelling film without a gimmick. I thought this would be a well-thought out police-procedural, or maybe a psychological thriller, but its really neither. Its just so ridiculously devoid of emotion, that the movie becomes arbitary. Its full of plot devices, such as the fog during the stakeout. Did anyone see that thick fog before the chase started, I didn't think so. Another is the sunlight that keeps him awake, Nolan ever really explores the insomnia that thoroughly. He just says here we go, cue the disorienting sound and jumpy images, there we go, thats all we need. Nolan is one of the few filmmakers to completely disorient me during a gun battle and the subsequent fight, I had no idea what was going on, and that couldn't have been the idea. I do have to give him credit for his little snippets of the victim shown throughout, which convey the innocence of her completely. The acting is really quite good, Al is great as always, people say he chews the scenery, they can shove it I like him for it, all this understatement gets a little weary. Robin Williams makes for a completely boring killer, which is good, I don't need the long-winded speeches on human nature from a psychopath, that got old 10 yrs ago. Hilary Swank isn't given much to do, she just puts the pieces together slowly but surely. The ending is awful, I mean it wouldn't be so bad, but Al's last line is just terrible and way too easy. All I can say is I thought Nolan would make something more interesting, and prove me wrong about his talents, but it seems he needs to get back to writing his own stuff, maybe he can prove me wrong another time.
Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent Direction
Review: Christopher Nolan has followed his impressive mainstream debut, Memento, with a film that once again examines the psychology of manipulation. The sunlit nights of an Alaskan summer distort the sense of time in a more subtle fashion than its predecessor. Al Pacino gives an impressive performance as a cop at ease with the compromises sometimes necessary in his chosen profession. Robyn Williams is the perpetrator of the particularly violent and meaningless murder. It is Lieutenant Dormer, played by Pacino, that the audience sleep-walks along with as the days merge together, and Robyn Williams that proves to be a plausible, accessible and fiercely intelligent "job" for Dormer to complete before the lack of sleep and Internal Affairs catch up with him. Nolan's direction is accomplished, the setting compelling, and the atmosphere palpable. While remakes tend to lose the full-bodied flavor of the prototype, there seems to be no such concern here (although I haven't seen the Norwegian original). The principals - rounded out by Hilary Swank as a young, dedicated local policewoman - are each utterly convincing in their portrayal of the guiding principals each has set themselves to live their lives by. But there are no black and whites here - sometimes it seems that only the crispness and beauty of the Alaskan scenery (mostly shot on location in Canada) gives us an unambiguous point to steer by. As Dormer's control of the situation slips away, we can feel him being tormented by uncertainty over his own motivations. It is a testament to the strength of the acting that while the final chapter, in hindsight, may seem predictable, it seems anything but as we are inchingly drawn into it, like a dream we wish we could begin with an elusive but much-needed sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Chris Nolan's Insomnia is utterly magnificent
Review: Chris Nolan deserved an academy award nomination for his previous direction of Momento. He probably was denied such an honor merely because that great film did not receive the backing of a large studio. Insomnia is clearly one of the best films that you will likely see this year. It is breathtakingly beautiful to look at. One will envy the Alaskans who are so fortunate to be surrounded by such awe inspiring scenery. Insomnia would be well worth seeing just for that fact alone. However, it offers substantially more than mere attractiveness. The acting of Al Pacino and Robin Williams is stupendous. Williams abandons his standard nice guy roles to portray a character of low self esteem who will stop at virtually nothing to escape justice. Both men will probably be remembered during Oscar time. Hillary Swank is also very good in her role as the idealistic young detective Ellie Burr who worships the ground that older homicide investigator Will Dormer (Pacino) walks on. The story revolves around the murder of a seventeen year old girl. Detective Dormer is called in from Los Angeles to assist the local police in finding the killer. He is accompanied by partner Hap Eckert (Martin Donovan) who is about to turn state's evidence against him. Dormer planted evidence on a man suspected of torturing and murdering a young boy. The veteran detective knows his life is about to be ruined. He then accidentally shoots and kills Hap. This is where the film takes off as we witness Dormer's personality and moral disintegration. We learn early on that a mildly popular crime novelist named Walter Finch (Williams) has murdered the girl. The plot twists and turns while Dormer suffering from a severe lack of sleep hunts down Finch---and finds himself in the untenable checkmated predicament where he is unable to arrest the manipulating Finch. Insomnia builds upon the eternally reoccurring tragic themes of sin and redemption. Can Dormer still do the right thing, or has his past compromises with wrong doing incapacitated his moral compass? Try imagining Crime and Punishment and Macbeth in an Alaskan rural setting. Insomnia easily earns five stars and proves that Chris Nolan is one of our greatest living directors. You should see this film as quickly as possible. Don't walk, but run to the theater. Let the kids view the escapist movies currently being released. Insomnia is a film for us adults.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly crafted
Review: When I first heard of the great Chris Nolan directing a film about a serial killer starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams I was ecstatic. Well, I just got back from seeing Insomnia, and it is one of the better films I have seen in the past year. Al Pacino plays an L.A. detective called into a case in Alaska involving a dead teenage girl. When Pacino arrives he finds a web of secrets, all leading to Robin Williams (cast surprisingly perfect as the killer), who learns that Pacino himself has some secrets. Hillary Swank is great as well in her role as a rookie cop, proving her Oscar win wasn't a fluke. The atmosphere of the film, especially between Pacino and Williams (the scene where they meet face to face) is what makes Insomnia a winner, and Nolan doesn't compromise his directorial skills and keeps Insomnia an unorthodox game of cat & mouse. The cinematography is worth noting as well, and should be remembered when Oscar time rolls around. George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh also helped produce the film, and I recommend seeing Insomnia as soon as you can. I haven't seen a movie that will haunt you like this in quite some time.
Rating:
Summary: This Summer's Sleeper?
Review: Al Pacino plays L.A. detective Will Dormer, who flies to Alaska with his partner to help out an old friend with a local murder case. Dormer, a seasoned veteran, is met at a small Alaskan town by a wet-behind-the-ears police officer named Ellie (Hillary Swank) who has followed Dormer's career religiously. Dormer is extremely out of place in the Alaskan small town... During this particular time of the year, the sun never sets. The feeling of not belonging and the theme of constant light are very important in the film. As Dormer investigates the case, we become aware that _he_ is being investigated by Internal Affairs back in L.A. As the events play out on the screen, Dormer finds that he and the killer he's looking for may have some things in common, which makes for some great dramatic moments and creates some wonderful tension... Watch 'Insomnia' for what it is: a really, really good thriller with top-notch acting. Without giving the story away, I can tell you it has one hole, and it's a pretty big one. If you can excuse it, you'll have a great time with 'Insomnia.' I know I did. What makes the film work is great acting, great cinematography, great characters, and a setting that we haven't seen hundreds of times (which I find refreshing). You get to know what's going on in the character's minds and will ask yourself, "I wonder what _I_ would have done?" 'Insomnia' is a very entertaining piece of filmmaking that doesn't deserve to get buried underneath the summer blockbusters. Let's hope it doesn't. If it does, obviously not enough people were staying awake.
Rating:
Summary: Insomnia Works on Many Levels
Review: "Don't lose your way."
By the time you get to the last line of insomnia, you know that you've been led down the path by masters. Beyond the powerful performances and the mythic landscape is a storyline that reaches deep down in the gut of all the fears that can be piled up over a lifetime or discovered new by the young. And, walking out of the theatre, what takes only a short while to emerge is thankfulness towards the group of people who performed that magic act called collaboration to bring the whole movie about.
It will leave you uncomfortable at being able to sympathize with the mind of a killer. It will leave you sad at the efforts we (and I say this with an almost seamless connection to the aging detective portrayed by Al Pacino) exert and the decisions we make in order to achieve rightness in each of our own worlds. And through the scatological cinematography that so masterly mimics the sensations of sleep deprivation, you are delivered almost unsurprised to the confessors in the story, whether it be the unwilling accomplice, the friendly hotelkeeper, or the young cop in search of the truth.
And in the rush to find the truth you almost miss the effort and the agonizing desire that each of the characters works through to tell you, to tell anybody, the truth. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Insomnia proves Robin Williams worthy of playing a psycho!
Review: An exciting , thrilling , shocking , suprising and sometimes scary suspense film by Director Christopher Nolan (Memento , The Following). The story is about a cop (Al Pacino) and his partner (Martin Donovan) who get sent to Alaska to check out a out of the ordinary murder with the help of a young female locale cop (Hilary Swank) and her partner (Nicky Katt) to stop the murderer an author named Walter Finch (Robin Williams). Not as good as Memento , but certainly up there.
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