Nolan's 'training wheels' film

Rating: 7/10 (29 September 2014)

Right now, most people know Christopher Nolan for his critically-acclaimed Batman trilogy. Others who know a little more about his work link him with some pretty intense science fiction, fantasy or generally twisted movies like Inception, The Prestige and Memento.
However, before all of those classics, he did a remake of a Scandinavian film, Insomnia. I haven't seen the original, so I can't compare to that. Although, as it wasn't originally his story, he didn't have as much input on the screenplay as he normally does. It's about a couple of cops from LA (one being the strung-out Al Pacino) who come to a small town in Alaska where it doesn't get dark for six months of the year, to investigate a murdered girl. Enter Robin Williams - the main suspect and Al's nemesis.
With those two acting heavyweights, you can never really say that Insomnia is a bad film. It ticks all the boxes. Everyone puts in a decent performance and I can't really see anyone who likes detective-type movies being disappointed. However, when you compare it to Nolan's other work, it does seem like a step down in quality. I can only think he prefers working on his own screenplays. Either way, don't let that put you off. It does the job and it's definitely worth a watch (as are most of Al Pacino's films!).