A great cure for insomnia

Rating: 5/10 (4 September 2002)

The summary comes courtesy of my husband, although I'm sure other people must have made the same comment about this mogadon-fuelled thriller.
I was expecting something edgier and unpredictable from the director of 'Momento', but it seems that he literally lost the plot this time. What begins as a beautifully photographed and intriguing film descends into a saggy and oddly edited disappointment which seemed to go on far longer than its 2-ish hours. This time there are no plot innovations, just annoying edits to represent Dormer's (Al Pacino) symptoms of prolonged insomnia.
And, oh dear, Mr Pacino's been hanging out at the Theatre of Pain again and traded in his 'Heat' subtleties for a "from the buttocks" 'Scent of a Woman'-style performance. He's 62, looks ten years' older but we're supposed to believe that - not only is he still employed - he can scale fences and chase villains - albeit at a sleepwalker's pace.
And please don't get me started with Robin Williams! Having obviously made the winning bid at the recent "Roles to give gravitas to Failing Comics" auction, Robin pulls out all the stops (which includes wearing corduroy!) to convince us that he CAN do 'serious'. The problem is he can't.
In taking the role of the bushy-tailed rooky, Hilary Swank has taken three steps back in her acting career, like 'Boys Don't Cry' never happened. She's a good actress and doesn't need this rubbish.
Abby from 'ER' and the Alaskan landscape give winning performances but were sadly not enough to keep me awake.