Today’s quick review: Insomnia. Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his partner (Martin Donovan) are sent to a small Alaskan town to help with a homicide investigation amidst an Internal Affairs audit of their native LAPD. They are greeted by Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), an eager officer and a fan of Dormer’s work. The investigation leads them to a remote shack, where a close brush with the killer (Robin Williams) leaves Dormer badly shaken and unable to sleep. Plagued by nerves, the killer’s taunting calls, and the never-setting Alaskan sun, Dormer struggles to finish the investigation despite his growing delirium.
Insomnia is a well-written crime thriller that examines the profound consequences of choices and rationalizations. The case itself is not so unusual for the genre, but its effect on Dormer is. He begins as a competent, honest cop with a long record of successful cases, but as the investigation wears on, he begins to make mistakes. Keeping up his facade as the unfazed, seasoned veteran becomes a difficult task in its own right, while back home the Internal Affairs audit threatens to undo his life’s work.
The characters of Insomnia are not entirely likable but are constructed well and acted with skill. They have just enough humanity to move the plot in interesting directions, walking the line between sympathetic and unsympathetic until intriguing moral choices appear and justify the viewer’s investment. The story is more conventional than Christopher Nolan’s other work: Insomnia is a competent crime drama with Nolan themes and characters more than a Nolan plot. This makes Insomnia less memorable and more accessible than his other work, a very good movie rather than a great one. Watch it if you’re in the mood for a thriller with a decent plot, interesting moral questions, and strong craftsmanship. Skip it if you prefer interpersonal conflict to intrapersonal conflict, you’re looking for something lighter, or you want a little more action.
7.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for its themes, characters, and execution, but it lacks the meaty plot of other Nolan movies.