Amazing Film

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2002)

Saw this film the other day and enjoyed every minute of it. The three lead performances are fabulous. Al Pacino carries the film with his Oscar worthy performance as a detective suffering from a lot more than lack of sleep. Robin Williams is equally effective as Finch. Like Pacino, Williams restrains himself and by doing so turns in a brilliant nuanced performance. And Hilary Swank takes a role that may seem like it has no "meat" and turns it into something special to watch. The rest of the cast do great work as well in small supporting roles most notably Maura Tierney and Jonathan Jackson. The direction by Chris Nolan was well paced and utterly engaging and the cinematography was simply breathtaking. Insomnia should get some Oscar nods especially for Best Actor (Pacino) and Cinematography. I'd give it a 9 since I wanted to see a bit more of Swank and Tierney's characters fleshed out even more. Still it's the best psychological thriller I've seen in a long time.