Review- Insomnia

I need to start this by saying Insomnia is a very good movie.  It has all the elements a suspense movie should have, and it is acted and directed to a 'T".  I had some issues with Insomnia though.  And I don't think my issues necessarily deal with the story, the talent, or even the archetypal path the movie tends to follow.  My problem is with Christopher Nolan.  That isn't something you'll often see here.  My problem is with Christopher Nolan.  I respect the man.  I have yet to see a Nolan movie that I didn't at least understand the merit in.  I was one of the guys that saw Inception numerous times.  To top that I enjoyed the movie very much.  I know that 1/2 of America thought it was the best thing since sliced bread, but I thought it was very adequate.  Good even.  But not outstanding.  No.  My opinion of Christopher Nolan as a director is not determined by Inception.  It was set long before that on the basis of Memento, The Dark Knight, and The Prestige.  I was disappointed in Christopher Nolan here.

In my opinion, Nolan wears a lot of different masks.  He is a brilliant technological director.  He is also a brilliant comic book reviver, suspense director, and talent-seeker.  What is hard about Insomnia is that it has no traces of Nolan behind the camera.  All of the evidence of a Nolan-esque story is there.  Potentially ambiguous ending, moral wrestling- it seems right up his alley.  But I think the real error here is that he is using somebody else's story.  Nolan thrives on bringing his own scripts to life- not rehashing stories originally told by others.  Still, back to my first comment- Insomnia is a very good movie.

The movie begins with detectives Dormer (Al Pacino) and Eckhart (Martin Donovan) traveling to Alaska to help solve the murder of a 17-year-old girl.  On a side note, I assure you I am not trying to write consecutive reviews about little-girl-murders- it just happened.  As the case is revealed, we learn that Dormer is in a bit of trouble with Internal Affairs.  This, we are told, is a driving factor behind getting the detectives out of town.  Later, in a dinner conversation between Dormer and Eckhart, Eckhart   tells Dormer that he has been offered a deal for immunity for any information he may have regarding the investigation.  Eckhart, being a family man and feeling the need to protect himself, voices his intention to accept the deal to the disgust of Dormer.  From here forward we see their relationship deteriorate as it becomes clear that Dormer feels betrayed.

The case regarding the murder of our young damsel trudges on with most of the heavy-lifting falling to Dormer and the young Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank).  A lead reveals itself in the form of a book bag that is found.  In order to lure the killer back to the site, Dormer orders that a dispatch in search of the book bag be broadcast over public airwaves.  However, when the suspect does arrive he is spooked by a megaphone and darts into the Alaska fog- shooting one of the supporting officers in the leg in the process.  Dormer follows the suspect on foot and as a figure appears in the cloudy haze, Dormer fires.  As he approaches the downed man, he quickly discovers that it is, in fact, his partner Eckhart.  Dormer, knowing how this will look scrubs the scene to make it appear as thought the suspect killed Eckhart.  The one thing he has neglected, is that the suspect saw everything.  Through a series of phone conversations and meetings we learn that our suspect (who reveals his guilt in the murder) is Walter Finch (Robin Williams), a local mystery writer.  Having been caught in the act, and facing an inability to catch a good night's sleep, we see Dormer wrestle with his own morality, and indeed sanity.

Insomnia is not a miss, but it isn't a solid hit either.  The story is intriguing enough and the cast each plays his/her respective role to satisfaction, and in some cases (Robin Williams, Maura Tierney) to perfection.  My only complaint truly is that the story is (and feels) very recycled.  Based off of the Norwegian film of the same name released just 5 years earlier, it lacks the originality and imagination that we have become accustomed to seeing out of Christopher Nolan.  Insomnia is definitely worth a watch.  it is a quality film with capable players, but for this Nolan fan, "short-changed" is the only way to really describe the feeling of the credits rolling.

Overall Rating- 7/10