No brawling fistfights here, just pensive dialog

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2002)

Although I love this film and rate it ten out of ten, I do admit that there's something missing, and I can't quite put my finger on exactly what that "something" is. However, I think that if anything was added to compensate for that missing "something" the eerie subtly of everything would be trampled.
I think a large part of Insomnia's effectiveness has as much to do with David Julyan's film score as it does with Pacino and Williams' wonderful performances. Sure, the entire movie is "bleak" and gloomy (and the score sure adds to it), but what do you expect from a movie with a plot that revolves the murder of a young girl? You sure as heck don't walk into the theater expecting some feel-good, heartwarming piece of crap that you'd see any other time of the year, that's for sure. We need more movies like Chris Nolan's Insomnia; it's unrelenting yet delicate, and I think that's what's putting people off. What many want are macho brawling fistfights between Williams and Pacino, but what they get are pensive and thought-provoking dialogue (plus a little shootout near the end.) Personally, I'm glad we get to see Williams and Pacino talk things out most of the time instead of beating the crap out of eachother in every scene. They'd be wasting their talent if there was no dialog interaction between the two.
My rating: ten out of ten