Flashbacks vs. hallucinations

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2002)

If anyone thought Memento should have received more than one AA nomination last year and for more than just best original screenplay, just wait. I believe the academy's penchant for rewarding those they wrongly overlooked before may well hold true this year. Insomnia is not only as beautiful a film visually, but naturally more accessible to mainstream viewing (in the BEST sense of those words). No one is going to get a migraine trying to keep up with this treat. The casting is once again superb, and, with the single exception of Larry Holden, totally new. Most good directors have a tendency to use a regular stable of actors (a la Brad Pitt in David Fincher films). Pacino turns in one of his best performances. Period. I have personally suffered from insomnia over the years, and I felt downright exhausted at moments from mere empathy. Robin Williams is just as good bad as one would hope. I can now forgive him for Patch Adams (although he still owes me for Bicentennial Man). The plot moves fluidly with no huge surprises (at least to me, but that also jibes with Memento), but the flawless execution of the suspense archetypes proves not only palatable, but tasty. Hollywood should have no trouble recognizing the beauty of this film as the bandage for the cuts of negligence of Art-gone-by.