Insomnia
Tags: psychological, neo noir, murder, thought-provoking, atmospheric, flashback, tragedy, romantic, storytelling

Plot synopsis:
In the small fishing town of Nightmute, Alaska, 17-year-old Kay Connell (Crystal Lowe) is found murdered. LAPD detectives Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are sent to assist the local police with their investigation, at the request of police chief Nyback (Paul Dooley), an old colleague of Dormer's. Also, an intense Internal Affairs investigation in Los Angeles is about to put Dormer under the microscope. Eckhart reveals that Internal Affairs has offered him an immunity deal in exchange for his testimony regarding one of Dormer's past cases. Eckhart says that he has no choice but to accept the deal, to Dormer's frustration.
Dormer comes up with a plan to lure the murderer back to the scene of the crime. The attempt fails, however, and the suspect flees into the fog. The police give chase, and the suspect shoots one through the leg. Dormer spots a figure in the fog and fires with his backup weapon and without calling out. On his way to the fallen figure, Dormer picks up a .38 pistol the suspect has dropped. He then discovers that he has shot Eckhart. As he dies, Eckhart accuses Dormer of murdering him. Because of Eckhart's pending testimony against his partner, Dormer knows that Internal Affairs will never believe the shooting was an accident. He tells his colleagues Eckhart was shot by the suspect. He doesn't mention he has the .38 pistol. Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), a young local detective, is put in charge of the investigation of Eckhart's shooting. Police find the bullet that sliced the first officer's leg, a .38 caliber. That night, Dormer walks to an alley and fires the .38 pistol into an animal carcass. He retrieves the bullet and cleans it, then visits the morgue. The staffer hands him the bagged bullet retrieved from Eckhart's body. She is unfamiliar with its type. He leaves and switches the bullet with one from the .38.
Over the next few days, Dormer is plagued by insomnia, brought on by his guilt over killing Eckhart and further exacerbated by the perpetual daylight. He then starts receiving anonymous phone calls from the suspect (Robin Williams), who claims to have witnessed Dormer kill his partner. After looking through her belongings, the police learn that Kay was a fan of a local crime writer named Walter Finch. Dormer looks up his address in nearby Umkumiut and breaks into his apartment. Finch soon comes home, realizes the police have arrived, and evades Dormer after a chase.
Dormer returns to Finch's apartment. While there, he plants the .38 to frame Finch. Finch later contacts him and arranges a meeting on a ferry. Finch wants help in shifting suspicion to Kay's abusive boyfriend Randy Stetz (Jonathan Jackson) and will stay silent about Dormer's role in the Eckhart shooting in return. Dormer gives advice on handling police questioning. After Finch leaves Dormer on the ferry, he shows the detective a tape recorder he used to record the conversation.
Finch calls Dormer and tells him that Kay's death was "an accident" — he beat her to death in a fit of rage after she rejected his advances. The next day, Finch gives false testimony at the police station. When Finch claims Randy had a gun, Dormer realizes Finch has discovered his plant, and has hidden it at Randy's home. He races to Randy's house to find the gun before other officers, but is unsuccessful, and Randy is arrested. Finch offers to give Burr letters indicating that Randy abused Kay, and asks her to come and collect evidence from his summer home the next day.
Burr finds a 9mm shell casing at the scene, which conflicts with the bullet type found in Eckhart's body. She reads old case files from investigations Dormer was involved in and learns he has carried a 9mm, suspecting he has been lying about who shot Eckhart. Dormer confides in the hotel owner, Rachel Clement (Maura Tierney) about the Internal Affairs investigation: he fabricated evidence to help convict a pedophile he was certain was guilty of murdering a child.
Dormer searches Finch’s apartment for an address for his lake house, and realizes Finch intends to kill Burr after finding Kay's letters in the apartment. As Burr and Finch move through his house, Finch knocks the young detective unconscious. Dormer reaches the cabin, but is too disoriented from lack of sleep to fight off Finch. Burr revives and saves Dormer, while Finch escapes. Burr reveals she knows Dormer shot Eckhart. He admits it, but says he is no longer certain if it was an accident. From his shed, Finch shoots at them with a shotgun, and Burr returns fire with Dormer's gun, allowing him to sneak around to Finch's location. After a scuffle, Finch finds Burr's gun and shoots Dormer, who shoots and kills Finch with his own shotgun. Burr rushes to the fatally wounded Dormer's aid and comforts him by affirming that Eckhart's shooting was accidental, then moves to throw away the shell casing to preserve Dormer's secret. Dormer stops Burr, however, telling her not to lose her way and tells her to let him sleep as he passes on.

Review: Like the 1997 Norwegian film on which it is based, `Insomnia' is a superbly crafted crime thriller, one that is more concerned with the psychological complexities of its main character than with the minutiae of the criminal investigation itself - though the details of the case are fascinating in their own right as well.Al Pacino delivers his finest performance in years in the role of Detective Will Dormer, a seasoned homicide investigator brought in from Los Angeles to help solve the murder of a seventeen-year-old high school student in rural Alaska.
The outstanding screenplay by Nikolaj Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjaerg really knows how to get into the minds and emotions of its characters, particularly in the case of Dormer, who turns out to be one of the most psychologically complex and fascinating figures we have encountered in the movies in a long, long time.
Hilary Swank brings a warmth and compassion to her role as Ellie Burr, an eager-to-please detective who has long idolized Dormer and his work, who also has to make an emotionally wrenching choice near the end of the film.
Finally, Maura Tierney makes her few scenes count as a sympathetic innkeeper whom Dormer turns to as the person who happens to be handy at the moment when the need to unburden his soul spontaneously arises within him.As the film's director, Christopher Nolan establishes and maintains a mood of quiet intensity throughout the course of the film.
The insomnia of the title is suffered by the Pacino character, who can't sleep during the movie's 7-day span.
"Insomnia" is gripping and it's best to see the movie cold.The acting, especially Robin Williams as the key suspect in the child slaying, is top notch.
Because this is a character-driven story that revolves around Dormer, his pain, anguish and guilt on account of accidentally taking his partner's life, constant insomnia and subsequent threats by his nemesis, played by Robin Williams as a writer of trashy detective novels who's fascinated by Dormer and blackmails him by threatening to spill out the secret of Dormer shooting his partner.
I greatly look forward to seeing his next project, whenever that may be.I recommend "Insomnia" to anyone who loved Nolan's previous "Memento" or anyone who simply enjoys a great, multi-faceted mystery/thriller that will keep you guessing at every turn.
Hilary Swank is superb as is Robin Williams and its refreshing to see him taking a serious role instead of sentimental trash like Patch Adams but as per usual it is Al Pacino who steals the show.
It's his work, along with the actors, that lifts up the movie into the `well worth watching' category.I was, in the end, a little bit disappointed with `Insomnia'.
Nolan (Memento) creates a complex and carefully construed tale that has plenty of intentional misdirection that is quite convincing.Al Pacino plays another one of his droopy detectives in a role that is quite unoriginal if placed in other films.
Based on a 1997 Norwegian film written by Nikolaj Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjærg, Insomnia is a true work of art in the world of film.Christopher Nolan takes all that was the 1997 film, and brings it to the next level, using his own style of directing, a musical score with shades of Memento, and an all star cast.
Hilary Swank also pulls out what is the greatest role of her career.Insomnia brings you in as an audience, with it's perfectly woven plot, with a film noir feel to it, just as Nolan's first two films.
I erred in giving into temptation to watch the original Norwegian "Insomnia" on IFC just a couple of weeks before seeing this Hollywood re-make directed by indie-credible "Memento" Christopher Nolan with a very effective Academy Award-winning cast.The original movie had a tiny budget and also an excellent cast, led by the terrific Swede Stellan Skarsgård, growing as pale as that relentless sunshine during the course of the film; the usually haggard-looking Al Pacino interprets his insomnia visually through an ever more haggard face.Though the original film isn't given as the source material until well into the closing credits, this follows the main thrust of the story closely.
Significantly, there is less sex and more morality.Hilary Swank's character is more naive than her counterpart; Martin Donovan's character's role is more central to the story and, of course, Robin Williams gets more screen time than his original counterpart, as the conflict is less in the lead's mind and more on the screen as a duel.
The plot twists are done differently so I shamefully got confused between the two movies.While not as overwhelming as the original, I do think this version should rank right up with the great detective/cop-does-the-right-thing movies, and the plot makes more sense than "The Big Sleep."(originally written 6/16/2002).
The film would have been unknown to me if there weren't the three Oscar winners, Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank that made this thriller for what it is, also if Christopher Nolan hadn't directed it.
(All three are Oscar winners by the way, and deliver performances that are definitely worthy of an Oscar.) Throughout the film, Pacino's character's mind wreaks havoc; the Alaskan town is so far up north, they get "white nights" (I.e. the sun doesn't set for half the year).
"Insomnia" is a thriller that has some big names attached to it: Al Pacino, Robin Williams & Hilary Swank; all designated as 'Academy Award Winner' on the movie poster.
Director Christopher Nolan is also well-known, though his only Oscar nomination is for a co-screen writing credit.The story concerns a veteran cop (Al Pacino) sent to Alaska along with his partner in order to aid in a murder investigation.
Especially if you're a fan of Christopher Nolan's other work or like the actors Al Pacino, Hilary Swank or Robin Williams..
Once upon a time (nine years ago to be exact) he was at the helm of a criminally underrated crime thriller by the name of Insomnia.Starring Al Pacino as a L.A. detective who travels to a remote Alaskan town to help identify the killer of a teen, this is one of Pacino's most recently truly great performances (a shame, I know).
This naturally ties into a specific subtext that reveals much about Dormer's personality and tainted past as a detective, and it's very refreshing to see the usual them of darkness giving way to light flipped on its head.The problem with writing a review of Insomnia is that I can't detail too much about what unfolds (in terms of plot) without ruining some of the major twists that lend genuine weight to the story as it ambles along some truly dark and disturbing corridors.
I think he was best filmmaker in the past decade, and if he continues making highly innovative,different,engrossing and intense films like memento,Batman Begins,TDK and now Inception, he's going to have a claim to be one of the greatest directors of all time.
What really draws you in is Al Pacino showing his greatness as an actor with a brilliant rendition of William Dommer,the title character .A cat-and-mouse game between hero-cop-with- skeletons-in-his-closet-suffering-from-insomnia-and-guilt and criminal- with-ace-up-his-sleeve is intriguing and engaging.
It's a remake of a 1997 Norwegian film of the same name.LAPD detective Will Dormer (Pacino) and his partner Hap Eckhart (Donovan) travel to the remote Alaskan town of Nightmute to aid the local cops investigating the savage murder of a teenage girl.
Yet Insomnia is so much more than that, it's a deep movie dealing in complex psychological issues, a blanc-noir of some character substance, a picture clinically put together around one man's descent into a private hell, with the beautiful Alaskan backdrop perversely claustrophobic and Anthony Mann like in being at one with Will Dormer's fragmented state of mind.Killing changes you.
What action there is also comes with a side order of otherworldly delights, a chase across floating logs and a stalk through eerie fog being the two particular highlights.Sleep comes at a cost.With three Oscar winners in the cast Nolan had some serious quality to direct, that Pacino, Williams and Swank deliver excellence is high praise for the British director.
InsomniaWhen you have insomnia, you finally get the chance to finish listening to those tranquil noise CDs that you always fall asleep during.Unfortunately, the restless detective in this thriller doesn't have time to listen to humpback whales in the rain forest.While under investigation for shooting his partner, LAPD detective Dormer (Al Pacino) travels to the land of the midnight sun to find the killer of a 17-year-old girl.Partnered with a green officer (Hilary Swank), Dormer is drawn towards a local writer (Robin Williams), whose work was found near the body.Meanwhile, Dormer cannot sleep – thanks to perpetual daylight and guilt over his partner's death.With strong performances and masterful direction at the hand of Inception creator Christopher Nolan, this melancholy and maddening remake of a Norwegian film is an intense and intelligent contribution to the thriller genre.The cure for sleeplessness, mind you, is to mainline tryptophan.
With the perpetual daylight, the mind games of a reclusive writer (Robin Williams) who is the prime suspect and suspicions from an idealistic local cop (Hillary Swank) in regards to his partners death; Dormer is stretched to his psychological limit and is haunted by sleep deprivation.Pacino, Williams and Swank all deliver top performances in this tense and mysterious thriller, that keeps you under its spell until the conclusion.7/10.
"Invited to 'Nightmute', Alaska, to head a murder case, veteran LAPD detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) finds his investigation interrupted by an ever-shining midnight sun that wreaks sleep-depriving havoc on him - and by personal guilt over a second crime that may be real or a figment of his increasingly unstable consciousness," according to the DVD sleeve description.Director Christopher Nolan does an excellent job crafting a North American version of the original 1997 Norwegian crime drama, helped immensely by Hillary Seitz' intricate, intelligent adaptation.Also extraordinary are Mr. Pacino, cinematographer Wally Pfister, and editor Dody Dorn.
Mr. Pfister knows how to hand-hold cameras, and Ms. Dorn's editing skills are sharp - hopefully, this team will receive some more film projects.********* Insomnia (5/3/02) Christopher Nolan ~ Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan.
There was killer Finch (Williams), irritating hero-worshiping local Alaska cop Ellie (Hilary Swank) - no wonder they had to go out of state - corrupt Dormer (Pacino) and his squealing partner Eckhardt (Donovan.) Is there anyone here to feel sympathy with?
But the real murderer (Robin Williams) saw him killing Eckhart and starts to blackmail him.It is from this reversal of situation, the cop dominated by the killer, that "Insomnia" draws its originality.
Hilary Swank plays an impressionable young officer who meets their seaplane -I liked her here, trying to impress Al Pacino as the folklorish cop hero.While apprehending the suspect Al accidentally (?) shoots his partner and then covers it up, giving the lurking Robin Williams killer character blackmail ammunition against him.
Five years later, in the year of 2002, British director Christopher Nolan adapted the material into a way bigger production, brought in A-listers Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank, re-located for a small town in Alaska, while keeping the original title.
All of this is only slightly spiced up by what is most definitely Al Pacino's best acting performance in this century.Even though Nolan has several good approaches, Insomnia is nothing more than generic, unspectacular, and forgettable in the long run.
The actors in this film were absolutely terrific in their performances, especially Robin Williams who has proved to many that he can act brilliantly in a drama and now in the thrillers.
Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, and Robin Willaims all did a terrific job of acting, they really clicked and made the film work.
Pictures in spring 2001 after making "furore" with memorable independent thriller "Memento" starring Guy Pearce to be adviced to direct star-actor Al Pacino, reviving inspector-seeking-the-truth genre hits as "Serpico" (1973) directed by Sidney Lumet or "Sea of Love" (1989) directed by Harold Becker and unusual intensely-dark playing Robin Williams (1951-2014) to full mind binding nemesis character confrontations of two stunning staccato-cut on-foot chase sequences in frozen, exotic blue/white reflecting glaciers in further highly-atmospheric on-set exteriors locations in Alaska, USA and British Columbia, Canada; when executive producers Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney in favors for a Warner Bros.
It is a first class thriller, with brilliant performances, character depth,cinematography and a great score.Nolan is one the best new talents out there, and i can't wait for more of his stuff.A lot of thrillers rely upon a tense plot to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, films like Misery or maybe Fatal Atrraction.
Constant daylight and chilling temperatures add an interesting backdrop to director Christopher Nolan's take on Nikolaj Frobenius' story of lies and deception in the suspense-filled, dark drama Insomnia.Will Dormer (played by veteran actor Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan II) are Los Angeles detectives sent to the remote town of (aptly named) Nightmute, Alaska to help the local police department solve the recent murder of a young teenage girl.
Director Christopher Nolan creates the perfect tension between local detective Ellie Burr played by actress Hilary Swank and Al Pacino as she conducts a separate investigation of a shooting incident.
The film Insomnia, based on an earlier Norwegian film, is an almost winner.By acclaimed directed Christopher Nolan, (Memento,) this is a bet that almost, but not quite, pays off, in the sense of waiting for the "other shoe to drop." It is not so much a murder mystery as it is a character study, but, as with the rest of the film, it's almost but not quite that, also.Al Pacino is Detective Will Dormer, who has been summoned to Nightmute, Alaska by an old friend to help solve the murder of a 17-year-old girl.
As I'm always interested to see the films that nobody talks about, let's go take a look at one of Nolan's earliest films.Insomnia follows two Los Angeles detectives who head to a small fishing town in Alaska to investigate the murder of a teenage girl.
Hilary Swank plays the traditional cop who wants to be one of the greats, like Dormer, Nicky Katt is one of the cops from Alaska investigating the girl's murder, and he does a pretty good job.
I'm not sure Williams or Pacino's performances should have won Oscars but they are definitely under-appreciated.It's hard not to mention Hilary Swank who gives another incredible performance in a movie that she could have easily been overshadowed by two of the all time greats.
Insomnia is one of the all time great crime films and I really hope that after Interstellar Nolan moves back into that genre and maybe even brings back Pacino for something.
Go check out Insomnia and you will be pleased with the outcome.+One of Pacino's last great performances +Intense and thought provoking (as usual with Nolan) +Swank's overlooked performance +Williams creepy villain +Nolan directing a crime film -Ending a bit of letdown compared to other Nolan films 9.3/10.
With Oscar winners Robin Williams, Al Pacino and Hillary Swank giving faces to the characters Insomnia becomes a real knuckler..
From murders to the protagonists' struggle with sleep, it really does bring some eye-catching moments and very much brings good "hold onto your seats" thrill-rides that makes the audience want to understand more about what could and had been happening.It's not the best Nolan film, but Robin Williams and Al Pacino pull off a very warm-welcoming investigation to there own by bringing fantastic enjoyment to a never-ending chapter of pure excitement to its own synopsis.
With three big cast who won the Oscars: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank, Insomnia is one of those movies that isn't so bad as for what people say it and I find it worth to watch.After his successful and got a lot of attention because of Memento in 2000, Christopher Nolan then made a crime drama movie called Insomnia in 2002.
Insomnia is one of those movies that is so easy to forget by people who watch all Christopher Nolan movies.The premise is like his films in general similar to Memento where the two films have a main character that filled with a lot of pressure.
But this is different from the others because it's not a movie about cat and mouse, a story which one the culprit is, or a totally unexpected plot twist.Simple it, we'll be more focused on the main character played by Al Pacino, as always his performance is great.
In the end, we'll not see a happy ending as some of you would have predicted it.On the other hand, I also like the antagonist played by Robin Williams and his acting in here is the best of all his films because it comes out of his character that never looks like this.
The character that played by Robin Williams is also nothing different from Al Pacino because both of them made an "unintentional mistake." After sharing the issues between the two characters, they both help each other from behind the screen but at the same time cornering each other.Hilary Swank is also the same with both actors, she is more opening to the performance in this movie as well although her character isn't described deeply in detail.
This psychological thriller starring acclaimed actor Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan, and Robin Williams in a role unlike any of the charismatic characters he's swallowed in his career; showcases a true and fascinating demonstration of what Nolan is capable of, even if it's quality leads less memorable than his other efforts.
While working on the investigation, he never gets sleep because of the 24-hour light outside so he begins to be affected mind and body and that may lead to some interesting things.Al Pacino and Robin Williams give very strong performances in their roles.
It's not ALL bad, though, because Al Pacino was excellent, and Robin Williams was the best thing out of EITHER movie (that man is actually a comedian???...with a MAJOR LEAGUE creep factor like THAT???