Insomnia (2002)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[Goffe]

A (95)

[jb007]

Al Pacino was good. The premise itself is not very interesting.

 

B-

[FTF]

Nolan's weakest (not including Following), but still a pretty solid movie.  B/B-

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Never seen the movie, but how come it's Nolan's weakest?

[redfirebird2008]

Never seen the movie, but how come it's Nolan's weakest?

 

He didn't write the script for one thing. However, there are some very strong elements: cinematography is off the charts (cool shots of Alaska), Pacino's last great performance, and Williams is great as the bad guy too. But the story is not quite as great as you might hope for. Still a well done movie and underrated next to some of Nolan's more hyped movies.

[Joel M]

Pacino is good but the praise he gets for this to me feels a little exaggerated just because he isn't screaming the whole way through. He is good but I think Williams evil turn is more impactful. It was almost shocking back then, but even now the way his on screen persona colors his character gives much more to the movie than what's on paper. That said after rewatching, Hilary Swank is better than both of them in her supporting role.

 

The movie in general is very well shot, well acted and even goes for some profundity about guilt, but in the end I think it's slightly less than the sum of it's many good parts. I haven't seen the original so I don't know how much close it was to the US procedural thrillers that were dime a dozen in that era(usually starring Ashley Judd) but Insomnia at times feels like a visualy prettier version of those films, many of which were fine, but I haven't bothered to rewatch since and probably never will.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Joel M

[dxmatrixdt]

Nice bump!  I just ordered this on demand last night and watched for my first time!!  A good A, maybe an A- but probably my least favorite of Nolans.  Wally Pfisters cinematography is great and I can see why he stuck around with Nolan.  I think Nolan did a good job at capturing the insomnia with Pacino's acting.  I have gone without sleep before and the feeling in this film felt accurate.

[Blankments]

Insomnia is a solid thriller, but there's not much more to it. Pacino leads the film well and Williams delivers a fantastic supporting performance that makes the entire film worth watching. Nolan directs as well as he usually does, and the script is compelling enough. That's its central issue though; it's just "enough." It really doesn't stick out from the crowd, and at points, the glacial pacing gets to be a tad annoying. Insomnia is a worthy beginning to Nolan's studio filmmaking, but, with the exception of Williams' performance, is mostly forgettable and sadly close to be a cure for its titular affliction. C+

[John Rambo]

One of my Top 3 Nolan movies (2nd spot after Interstellar)

Loved the way characters were introduced and the tense moments in the latter half.

Pacino's performance was like a pro he was at ease and he nailed it as usual. But one person who surprised me was Robin Williams he was simply superb as Guy-who-you-do-not-expect-to-be type! 

 

Movies pacing is a issue at times but its overshadowed by Nolan's brilliant piece of work and Pacino's/Robins screen presence. 

9/10

Edited September 5, 2017 by John Rambo