[.ca] Insomnia (Full Screen)

Amazon.ca:
Après le succès-surprise de son précédent film, Memento, le jeune réalisateur britannique Christopher Nolan continue à affirmer son talent dans Insomnia, thriller psychologique brillant et original opposant Al Pacino et Robin Williams. Will Dormer, policier légendaire de Los Angeles, est envoyé avec son partenaire dans une petite ville de l'Alaska pour résoudre une affaire sordide de meurtre. Harassé par l'omniprésence du soleil de minuit et le rythme de vie quasi-hypnotique qui en découle, il devra affronter à la fois un assassin retors et le piège tendu par sa propre conscience. Grâce à un sens aigu de la mise en scène et un travail sonore impeccable, Nolan crée un univers dangereusement tranquille, théâtre de relations ambiguës et déstabilisantes. Profitant du grand talent de ses interprètes - Al Pacino, excellent en flic étouffé par une situation qu'il contrôle de moins en moins, et Robin Williams, dans un contre-emploi très convaincant -, le réalisateur réussit un thriller au suspense précis, soutenu par une tension particulièrement subtile. Un scénario sophistiqué et d'écrasantes profondeurs de champ comptent aussi parmi les ingrédients de cette très bonne recette. Parfaitement maîtrisé visuellement, Insomnia fait partie de ces films qui nous laissent croire que le cinéma de genre a encore un avenir prometteur. --Helen Faradji

Amazon.ca:
Though having three Academy Award winners in a cast doesn't guarantee that a movie will be something special, Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank do indeed work well together in this Hitchcockian thriller set in tiny Nightmute, Alaska. Director Christopher Nolan (Memento) deserves much of the credit as he turns a twisted, if somewhat predictable plot and occasionally clunky dialogue into a claustrophobic, noirish thrill ride to the edge of insanity. Pacino is suitably cast as detective Will Dormer, an L.A. cop sent with his partner to Nightmute (where the sun never sets) to help solve the murder of a teenage girl. Swank plays young, impressionable local officer Ellie Burr, who's idolized Dormer since she studied his work in law-enforcement school. Williams, in a surprisingly modest role, turns up as quiet local mystery novelist Walter Finch, who finds he and Pacino have much in common. More of a psychological thriller than a whodunit, Insomnia successfully weaves several intriguing plotlines into one teetering-on-the-edge-of-madness conclusion that's both disarming and inevitable. --Adem Tepedelen

Robin's as the baddie:
I guess nealy every actor plays a bad guy at some point. Williams has probably realized that he's pretty much plumbed the depths of comedic possibilies and its time to do some actual acting. He's surprisingly good. There's always been a kind of sad melancholic underside to William's comedy. Stand up comedy itself is a desperate plea for attention and acceptance. 98 % of this movie is the mano a mano mortal struggle between Pacino, the conflicted and tormented cop and Williams, the remorseless murderer. Formulaic but extremely well acted, directed and filmed.

unfortunately "Sleep Aid" would have been a more apt title(although they tried hard to make this one work) 2.5/5:
i didn't like this movie too much.as a matter of fact,it nearly put me to sleep.how's that for irony.the movie is basically about murder which occurs in a small Alaskan town.two big city cops are sent to investigate.the twist to this movie.the sun doesn't set,which throws everything out of whack for the detectives and complicates their investigation.Robin Willima is in this one,in another darker role for him.Al Pacino,Hilary Swank and Martin Donovan also star.there's nothing wrong with the acting,but the movie is much to methodical,as it slowly plods from one clue(or non clue) to the next.as i said earlier,i had a heck of a time staying awake with this one.Christopher Nolan directed this movie,but he cannot be blamed for this one.the writing is the culprit here.i suspect,it looked good on paper and even while they were filming,but somehow the end product doesn't seem to work.i think they tried really hard with this one,but sometimes things just don't work out the way you planned.this is not a horrible film,but it's just missing something.i give "Insomnia" 2.5/5 for the effort.

i was dissapointed:
I expected this to be really good, but the potentially excellent film by Christopher Nolan was really hurt by the attitude of Al Pacino as a cop in Alaska. In his past few movies, he tries too hard to be young and savvy when he just needs to accept that he is aging. He tries to be cool in this and he is just retarded. Hilary Swank didn't do anything at all to make this movie any better. Robin Williams is the only bright spot in this movie. He is the reason for me giving this three stars. He can play a pretty good villain.

See the Norwegian version instead!:
Insomnia was a rip off of a great foreign movie. The two versions of the story are nowhere near equal. The original release was edgy and really let the viewers get into the mind of the characters portrayed and all of their internal struggles. The Hollywood version never reached the same level of suspense and the characters never seemed as convincing as in the original. So, if you don't mind reading subtitles, do yourself a favor and pick up the original instead.

Insomnia (2002):
Director: Christopher Nolan. Cast: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hillary Swank, Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt. Running Time: 118 minutes. Rated R for violence, language, and brief nudity. As if Hitchcock woke from the dead and decided to make one last film so his soul could finally rest, he would have made a film very similar to "Insomnia". Although Christopher Nolan is certainly no Hitchcock, this intense suspense-thriller possesses the some of the qualities that make a true classic. The story winds through the nightless town of Nightmute, Alaska, where LAPD detective Will Dormer (played by Al Pacino is an only par performance) investigates a troubling serial killer case. When the investigation takes a sudden, twisting turn, Dormer not only is in pursuit of a killer, but is up against the sleepless psychological trauma that is disrupting his every move. As Dormer gets closer and closer to the truth, he comes across a startlingly eerie author (Robin Williams), who happens to have vital information about concerning one of the victim's death. As Dormer becomes more involved with the author, his paranoia grows increasingly unstable. Williams steals the show throughout the second half of the film, portraying the role with ease; a haunting character that must have crept mightily out of his soul. Hillary Swank is a some-what misused rookie officer who is one step behind Dormer in solving the case and her peformance is only fair. Director Nolan uses the excellent Hilary Seitz to his advantage, plotting Dormer's fears and ambitions, tooling Pacino and Williams's characters in a battle of good and evil, yet the good and the evil are presented in an enigmatic, vague fashion that will keep viewers guessing. Entertaining, thrilling, and moderately scary--Hitchcock would have been pretty proud.