Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia (2002) is a well crafted/cat & mouse/psychological crime drama, (which is a  remake of a Norwegian film with the same name) directed by Christopher Nolan..

Veteran Homicide Detective Al Pacino, along with his partner Martin Donovan from LA - were called to Alaska to resolve the murder mystery of a teen girl.. Both were assisted by a young local cop Hilary Swank, who has long idolized Al Pacino and his work. In an attempt to catch the  murder suspect Robin Williams, ( Yes, he is the culprit) Al Pacino mistakenly shoots his own partner.. Not knowing that Robin Williams seen all this, Al Pacino started constructing an ever more complex web of lies to hide it.. Now it’s the killer’s turn - Starting to play a sort of mind game with the Detective..

Title Insomnia , (meaning  sleeplessness) – resembles Al Pacino’s  inability to sleep because of  Alaska's midnight sun and his guilt over killing his partner..

Once again, Al Pacino delivered his best  & portrayed  what the movie requires from him.. He looks dead tired and sleepy through-out the movie.. Scene after scene he looks as if he is just ready to collapse on the ground and sleep, but he can't… That is what Insomnia means..

I am surprised to see Robin Williams as the killer.. We all (at least  me) used to see him always a a comedian.. This  movie is at its best when Williams is on the screen – when he explains the things & making  Al Pacino to coverup both the murders which will save both of their lives. ..
Personally I feel – Nolan could have included more scenes of Williams tormenting Pacino..

Hilary Swank, who played the role of local cop -  gave a decent performance..
(I should write about  Hilary Swank in a separate post.. She is another good actress, who impressed me in Million Dollar Baby) ..

Chirstopher Nolan  is well known for his Memento &  much hyped  recent release Inception..
I dint like inception much.. The fact is after seeing 2 times, I couldn’t understand..
I m not comfortable in watching a movie twice to better understand it.. :-)

Opening musical score was quite good (played when Al Pacino moving into Alaska) and it really pulled  me into the movie.. It sets the tone for a suspense cop thriller..

It's a film that shows us how real life is - nobody's perfect & 100% good. .

If you are looking for a sort Thriller with Breathless chase, this is possibly not for you..

To conclude, I would like to give two quotes I loved a lot:
1) Robin Williams: (To Al Pacino) :  "Life is so important. How could it be so f**king fragile?"
2) Al Pacino (To Hilary Swank): You know.. Small lies, Small mistakes..  People give themselves away, same in misdemeanors as they do on murder cases. It's just human nature. Aren't you gonna write that down?

Related Link:
Insomnia @IMDB
Insomnia Original (Norwegian) version @IMDB

Trailer:



Cheers!!