DVD Review: Insomnia (C+)

Insomnia (2002)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Al Pacino, Hilary Swank and Martin Donovan
MPAA: R
Grade: C+

Review by Scott Standish

The director of Memento and the very underrated Following tries his hand at redoing another director's work in Insomnia, but with mixed results. Readers must know that I am a huge fan of the original, shot in Swedish language, starring Stellan Skarsgard back in 1997. The original was a bit darker, a little slower and frankly, although I know this might upset a few people, I think the acting was better.

This Chris Nolan version is certainly a decent thriller however, with the story pretty much intact from the original. Al Pacino stars as Detective Will Dormer, a legendary LA Detective loaned out to a small town in Alaska in hopes that he can solve a brutal murder. Dormer has some skeletons in the closet, and he is being investigated by internal affairs. Plugging ahead, Dormer uses his skills to rally together the local police force and track down clues to find the killer. Hilary Swank sleepwalks through the role of Ellie Burr, a young cop that has idolized Dormer's technique for years.

Dormer has arrived during a time period where the sun never sets, and as time wears on, he finds that he can't fall asleep. The pressures of tracking the killer, worrying about the internal affairs probe, and the never ending sunlight start to get to Dormer, and Pacino does a great job of showing this professional start to crack.

As everyone knows by now Robin Williams plays the killer in Insomnia, a writer that is supposed to seem creepy, but actually comes off as a slouchy nerd. I am pretty sure that the casting of Williams here was supposed to shock people, and Williams has done a good job recently of trying to shake his "good guy" image by taking bad guy roles. But, sorry folks, he just doesn't really seem to carry this role, and its a bit of a downer, since Pacino shines so brightly here.

Insomnia is a decent thriller that certainly doesn't tarnish the image of the superior original, but it also doesn't take the story to a higher level. For Al Pacino and Christopher Nolan freaks only.

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