Not the best effort of anyone involved, by some distance.

Rating: 4/10 (3 May 2008)

I refer mostly to esteemed director Christopher Nolan, actors Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank as the most notable here. To be honest I wasn't impressed with any singular aspect in terms of scripting, cinematography, directing, pacing, setting or anything intrinsic to great film-making. Even taken together, I did not find this picture particularly engrossing.
Al Pacino's performance is best described as workmanlike. There is none of the showmanship or nuance displayed in Scent Of A Woman, Devil's Advocate, Heat or The Godfather. Bereft of a good script or a chance for one of his trademark speeches, Pacino relies on hangdog expressions as much as Julia Roberts relies on doe-eyed expressions in Notting Hill. From an actor of such obvious ability, this is disappointing. Robin Williams fares no better as the villain. He employs subtlety in a similar manner to his role in One Hour Photo but the effect falls flat here as his character fails to have any depth. There is no reason to hate him, there is no reason to understand him, sympathise with him or be terrified by him. Hilary Swank tries her best with the material but comes up as short as the rest. Martin Donovan is utterly forgettable, even considering the use of flashback scenes and mild hallucinations.
The most disappointing aspect has to be the direction. Having seen such fine, genre-defining work from Nolan, it's very sad to see him flounder with this. I didn't necessarily expect clever trickery, complex editing or any of his other hallmarks, but with greater attention to the style and mood of the genre (in this case detective thriller with some film noir undertones) he could have made this much more engrossing. Instead we're lumbered with slow push-in shots, standard alternation between close-up and distance shots for action scenes and pedestrian back/forth shots for one-on-one dialogue. The entire direction fails to create a sense of mood or tension. Even the relative beauty of Alaska is not exploited, or even used except in one short scene where Pacino loses control of his vehicle.
There is no sense of progression here. A complete absence of short shocks or built-up set-pieces further desecrates the picture - well, more accurately they are THERE but they're completely ineffectual and usually feel forced. You feel them coming because you've seen them done better in countless other pictures. Al Pacino does not seem any more of an insomniac at the end than he does at the beginning - it's not the make-up, it's the lack of performance. Robin Williams comes in too late and as mentioned, adds no drama or tension.
The whole thing plods along without ever taking off. I was waiting for a defining moment, a spark, some kind of twist that would offset some of the obvious weaknesses but it never came. There was never a moment or a line that explained the predicament and gave the film the deeper portent it was aiming for. The plot unravels in ones mind only moments after the credits roll with notable holes and lack of substance.
Perhaps I've been spoilt by such great film-making I've become jaded, but considering past performances by the creators I wasn't expecting to be left in such a malady. I am reminded of the recently released 88 Minutes which I happened to see before this picture. Sadly, although that picture is also far from top quality, I happened to find it somewhat more effective.