Absorbing, off-beat thriller

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2005)

Insomnia was better than I'd expected. It kept my attention throughout, and all the main actors were very strong, esp. Hilary Swank (her best performance yet, I'd say). I liked the way Pacino's character was always far ahead of the rest of the police, trying to set things up behind the scenes. It was an unusual story, very well told and with a lot of effective characterization.
I would like to rate it higher than a 7 out of 10 (I'd rate it 7.5 if I could), but I feel it also had some shortcomings. For instance, how did the murderer know all about Pacino's character's trouble with Internal Affairs when the local police didn't even have a clue? Also, since this is a remake of a no doubt superior original, I can't rate it as highly as its previous incarnation. So a 7 it is. But good movie.