Lack of Dreams for an Insomniac.

Rating: Null/10 (27 October 2003)

Interesting psychological thriller from director Christopher Nolan (the brains behind the amazing "Memento") still comes up a bit short. L.A. detectives Al Pacino and Martin Donovan are called in to Nightmute, Alaska, a small town where there are literally endless days (no darkness) for parts of the year. It is obvious from the start that the L.A.P.D. is under fire for possibly tampering with evidence in numerous cases in order to solve crimes faster. Thus Pacino and Donovan are practically at odds anyway due to a potentially damaging situation. Immediately the duo and the local police (Hilary Swank in particular) track down the suspected killer of a teenage girl, but Pacino mistakenly shoots his partner in a thick fog. Naturally the others believe that the man they were chasing is the culprit once again and Pacino keeps his secret from everyone else. However the villain (a creepy Robin Williams) calls Pacino and tells him that he saw everything that happened and a complicated cat-and-mouse blackmail game ensues. Psychology starts to play into Pacino's head as he just cannot get any sleep (thus the title) and we are left wondering if Pacino might have really meant to kill his partner. "Insomnia" has that claustrophobic feel to it, much like "Memento". However the screenplay here ends up being cliched and unoriginal. Williams and Pacino are left to sometimes irritating conversations that do not seem to support where the movie is trying to go. Everyone else is wasted completely. Nolan's direction keeps the movie intriguing, but nothing truly exceptional is ever reached with "Insomnia". It shouldn't put you to sleep, but it probably won't generate your heart-rate much either. 4 stars out of 5.