Really great thriller with unforgettable acting

Rating: 6/10 (21 March 2006)

Insomnia might be considered as one of the few commercial thrillers from the past 10 years, but of course that doesn't necessary mean it's not good. In fact, it's really great. I don't quite know what I liked so much, but when I think about it, I really loved it. After the movie ended, I thought it's nothing special, but it's something I would recommend. Well, I guess I have seen some bad thrillers lately and I appreciate what Insomnia showed me.
We have a story about a detective investigating a murder among the woods of a small city. Very few citizens and nobody could suspect anything bad could happen. One day, Will Dormer played by Al Pacino, along with his colleagues are in action, trying to catch the killer. The is a fog and Will is completely alone when he sees a man with a gun pointed at him. He shoots him, thinking it's the suspect, but it turns out that it's another one of his colleagues. Nobody finds out about this and Will starts living in fear, keeping that secret. And the most important is that the real killer saw Will killing his friend and now Will could do nothing except waiting, helping the killer in what he needs. His life becomes a nightmare.
Well, it's a nice plot. There is a drama element in the movie that you would probably like. It kinda fits with the story, the atmosphere and the location where the movie takes place. Dark, lonely place with a bad mood atmosphere surrounding it. Somehow you could not have a straight thriller or a satire. It just cries for drama. And if we add that Pacino's character has had bad life and he lives in a nightmare, the pessimism takes place and you understand the movie is not what you thought it would be. After the first half an hour, the movie becomes more of a character study then a crime - thriller with great twists and tension. And since I put SPOILERS, I would allow myself to tell you that the killer in fact appears on screen 40-50 minutes before the end. It's kinda Se7en style, but with different plot purposes. This time Walter Finch played by Robbin Williams, is a cheater, a cold blood murderer and kinda eccentric and sly person. At least enough sly and clever to rule Pacino's character. At least I did have expectation for a tensed thriller with a twist, but as I said it became a character study which is kinda provocative and it explains why Insomnia has some haters. I personally liked it. I guess Pacino played his role in a great way, so there was no way I could have been disappointed. And the bottom line is that it actually turns out that I loved the character study factor, cause of Pacino's great performance. I don't see anything wrong with it, but some people do. In this particular case, it depends on what are your expectation before viewing Insomnia.
I want to point out that Williams as the killer, was ridiculous. This is a thing I hated. He is not believable at all. His facial is funny even when he tries to be deranged psychopath. Acting is indeed great as I said many times already, but that was one of the worst cast choices ever. Of course we have great Swank performance which for me is the best actress alive these days, we have Pacino with a great performance as the unhappy, pessimistic looking detective and some nice performances by not that know performers. The director Christopher Nolan, perfectly know with Memento, does his job. I just thought that there might be people who are ready to view Insomnia, immediately after they are told it's from Memento's director. Final words - highly recommended fresh and original drama - thriller with different and casual plot moments and superb acting.