Short review of Insomnia, no spoilers.

Rating: 9/10 (10 September 2011)

Excellent film, even though you know exactly what's going on. There is no actual mystery there. It is, however, still intensely suspenseful. All of the mysteries are internal ones. Questions of morality, guilt, suspicion, right and wrong, decisions that change everything. You never know who is going to jump what way... and how insomnia affects perception and judgment.
There are good guys and bad guys, and it's easy to see the ones at the extremes, but in the murky half-light hide the grey hats, the ones you can't trust to be good or bad. So what do you do? There's where the suspense lies...
And it is good.
I was never TRULY a fan of Al Pacino's (maybe I just haven't watched Dog Day Afternoon all the way through) until this film. His craggy face lends itself to his role, and he is best when he is understated, pulled back, reined in. It's good.
Who's the villain? Well, watch it and see...
Cinematography in this film is almost another character unto itself. The camera plays tricks on you, leads you on, asks questions you have no answer for until the bitter end. The story is presented visually, exactly how it should be. You know from the first moments of the credits that Something Is Going On. Always nice to see someone use the intro as an integral part of the film instead of just a place to put names...