Twin Peaks meets The Pledge

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2002)

I've seen the original Norwegian version of Insomnia, and for once I really don't feel that the American remake "ruined" the original. Nolan's Insomnia is a considerably different movie despite following the plot outline of the original quite closely. Nolan and his screenwriter add more narrative elements--twists and complications--and provide more backstory, a significant departure from the sparse plot of the European film--that's to be expected from a Hollywood production, I think. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that Nolan's version keeps intact the moral complexity of the film's main characters--American movies generally exhibit a somewhat Puritanical discomfort with moral ambiguity, but Nolan doesn't seem to submit to that pattern.
All in all, I enjoyed the new Insomnia very much, although I had to force myself to stop being an anti-remake snob and just appreciate it for itself. If you really liked the new Insomnia, I do recommend watching the original, just to see how the same story is rendered by a different creative team for a different audience.