**** out of 5

Rating: Null/10 (19 October 2002)

What happens when you have a cop with a guilty conscience, a killer who rights about his crimes, a rookie out for answers and a town where the sun never sets? You get Insomnia. We start off the film as Detective Will Dormer and his partner are flying to the town of Nightmute, Alaska to investigate a murder. But when Dormer accidentally kills his partner he covers it up, just one problem, someone seen him do it, the killer. The killer, Walter Finch, declares a partnership with Dormer, but we have to stop and ask ourselves, who really needs who? Who is really the guilty one here? Who will burn if they don't help each other? "There are two kinds of people in Alaska, those who are born here and those trying to escape something." A line that would almost suggest that this is little more than a dark, character driven, atmospheric thriller, but really a journey through a mans soul who must be able to find himself first before he finds the killer. I guess you can't escape your problems with out even more arising. Al Pacino gives an Oscar worthy performance as Dormer, anyone who says he has lost it in his old age better think again. He shows ever emotion right down to the last detail and does one little thing that makes him one of the finest actors around. He makes you fell the character not feel for the character, therefore the audience can be right beside him every step of the way, knowing just what Dormer is going through. Robbin Williams is also Oscar worthy as Finch, giving his best performance since Awakenings, just the sound of his voice almost sends a shiver down your spine. The film was also directed by Christopher Nolan who also directed last years Memento. Nolan seems to have no problem creating suspense, this film is very dark and edgy. But in some places it almost seems that Nolan is trying to hard to create suspense, never really giving the audience any room to breathe and sometimes, for this, the film becomes boring due to the ultra slow placing. In the end it all comes down to one question, how can you stop someone else's bloodshed why you can't even wipe the blood of your own hands?