Great Acting - Average Plot.

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2002)

Evidently this film is a Remake. I didn't know it. And I'm betting that the director of this film, Christopher Nolan (Memento), is banking that most Americans are like me; oblivious to the history of the film.
Memento was a very original film which won over the critics, but unfortunately didn't fair well with mainstream America at the box office. Memento found its audience on pay per view and as a video and DVD. It is now a cult classic with educated movie fans and film students. There are a lot of folks who now WISH they would have seen the flick on the big screen. Hind sight you know.
I mention all this because Christopher Nolan is a smart man, who probably wants a long movie career. Very few directors experience the level of critical success on what was only their second major movie ever. So here is Nolan, on the crossroads. He's won the minds of Americans (the critics, cultural elite, etc) now he has to win over the hearts of Americans. How, by making a relatively safe film that is accessible to most Americans.
What's more "American" than Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and serial killers? Not much.
Insomnia is a good film. But it's a safe and predictable film. It's also a very commercial film, unlike Nolan's previous 2 creations. He's proven to the studios that he can make art, now he has proved that he can make money.
It's your standard cops and robbers flick, but what makes the film stand out are the actors. Who would have thought that Robin Williams would succeed in his role as a very convincing killer? He did a very good job which is almost worth the ticket price alone. And Al Pacino... man, they made him look 20 pounds too heavy and 30 years older--on purpose. He's supposed to be ragged looking and they do a great job. You can sum up the film as great actors, do great jobs in an average script. They did so well, that it saves the film. Anyone else, and this film would have fallen flat on its face because only the acting, and not the directing, kept it afloat.
It's a slow film, not an action flick. But it is suspenseful. It gets a 8 out of 10 from me.