Insomnia (BD)

I really enjoyed 'Insomnia.' For me the movie itself revolves around the power of Al Pacino and his captivating performance in the film. This psychological drama lives on heavy performances with a captivating plot and sub-plot to drive an interesting story through the Alaskan tundra. I do want to start by voicing my biggest complaint with the movie before I jump on the bandwagon and rave it up. The idea of pushing an LA detective out to Alaska to work a case based off of an IA (internal affairs) investigation seems forced and incoherent. With that out of my system, let's look at all of the good. The casting was superb to say the least. Al Pacino and Robin Williams make a tremendously powerful opposing force duo that help pulse the entire film to the end. Hilary Swank portrays a young detective who must straddle the line between the job and her emotions while watching her biggest idol become more and more enthralled with the case. Maura Tierney and Martin Donovan play important and interesting side roles in the ever twisting story. Wrapping up the list of good names on this film is director Christopher Nolan who once again takes a film and turns it into an emotional epic. The acting on its own is enough to warrant a viewing of 'Insomnia' and when you couple in the beautiful landscapes and sequences with an interesting and tantalizing script you are left with a truly top class film. I don't want to talk much about the film itself because even small details will change your perception and feelings toward the film. Just snag it, curl up, and enjoy this amazing drama! 5 Sleepless Stars out of 5!

Very good movie!!

What a great premise for a movie. NY Detective accidentally kills his partner who is about to aid an internal investigation against him. All the teenagers in this Movie have the chutzpah of worldly 40 year old ex-cons. This is not how teenagers would act in the given situation. Hilary Swank's character, Ellie Burr is the (over) fawning local detective. Robin William's is great at playing the highly intelligent writer who manipulates the investigation. All the pieces are there for a truly great movie but it did not receive the final tweaks to bring it to it's potential. That said it is a great psychological thriller and worth the current price of admission.

I've seen this many times. I introduced it to my daughters who are older and in their late teens. Be mindful cause even then the subject matter is quite dark. Kind of a good thing to see for older girls to warn them of certain "dudes" and it is nice that there are not any really awful, brutal or grotesque scenes. A few quick flashes of some stuff though but nothing too heavy, imo. They were on the edge of their seat the entire time and hooked throughout. Such a treat (we LOVE Robin Williams) seeing RW's play such a rotten dude. He was an exceptional actor. Pacino and Swank give wonderful performances as well. Honestly I could more than deal with it being an extra hour or two longer! 5 stars.

Slow, but thank you.

Good movie

Killer movie (no pun intended

Good movie

ありがとうございました。 早速、楽しく視聴出来ました。

Will Dormer è un esperto detective della Polizia di Los Angeles: viene chiamato insieme al collega Hap Eckhart a Nightmute, una piccola cittadina dell’Alaska, per indagare sull’inquietante omicidio di una diciassettenne, Kay Connell. Sul luogo i due incontrano la giovane agente Ellie, che nutre profondo rispetto per la carriera di Dormer e per i numerosi casi che ha risolto nel suo passato. La coppia di poliziotti è per altro nel centro della bufera, avendo procurato qualche tempo prima false prove per far condannare un uomo che loro sapevano per certo aveva ucciso e torturato un bambino. Tra di loro vi sono idee diverse su come dichiararsi al processo, in cui le rispettive carriere sono inevitabilmente a rischio. Sotto la luce abbagliante e ininterrotta dell’estate artica, i sospetti cadono sullo scrittore Walter Finch. Un incidente tormenta Dormer, che incapace di recuperare sonno ed equilibri mentali e fisici tenta di lottare con i propri sensi di colpa, mentre un pericoloso gioco psicologico si innesca nei suoi confronti. Ho acquistato questo prodotto perchè, oltre ad essere un capolavoro, presentava l' edizione due dischi con contenuti speciali, interviste, spiegazioni del film. Per chi non lo sapesse il film si tratta di un remake dell'omonimo film norvegese del '97, ma nonostante questo risulta essere un thriller da vedere assolutamente anche perchè è guidato da Cristopher Nolan, uno dei miei registi preferiti, che aggiunge un che soggettivo ai propri personaggi lavorando sul loro aspetto interiore, psicologico e cognitivo. Consiglio assolutamente l' acquisto.

très beau film, avec des acteurs formidables, et un voyage dans une intrigue et une région inhabituelles (pour le Parisien moyen que je suis) on est heureux de revoir (en vie) l'actrice de One Million Dollar Baby

And a bad cop cant sleep because his conscience wont let him. Insomnia is directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Erik Skjoldbjærg and Nikolaj Frobenius (1997 screenplay). It stars Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan and Nicky Katt. Music is scored by David Julyan and cinematography by Wally Pfister. 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. But Dormer leaves behind an Internal Affairs Investigation that gnaws away at him, and when a potential bust of the murder suspect goes tragically wrong, his conscious gets attacked on two fronts. By lack of sleep and by the killer himself. It's a House of Cards. Viewing from afar it's easy to be cynical and suggest that Insomnia is just an American remake cash in. Bigger budget, bigger stars and directed by a indie darling of the critics moving into the big league. While on the surface the plot looks to be another in a long line of cops and villains thrillers where procedural unfolds and evil is ultimately brought down at the end. 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. You know that. From the opening moments as we observe a biplane flying over the Alaskan glaciers, accompanied by David Julyan's nerve tingling score, there's a looming air of disquiet. Nolan knows his noir onions, mood is everything and the dense psychological atmosphere is never once breached for the entire movie. Much of the picture is dialogue heavy, gratifyingly so, with the hushed conversations between Pacino and Williams begging the viewer to hang on every word as cop and killer (no spoiler, it's revealed to us early as a necessity) jostle for control of each others soul. 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. Pacino actually gives one of his finest late career performances, utterly compelling as Dormer, his haggard face tells of a thousand sorrows, his sleep deprived gait befits a man staring into the abyss. Wally Pfister's photography is on the money, the blend of snow whites and green tinges sparkle from the vistas and the soft brown hues inside the hotel provide the rare moments of tranquillity available to Will Dormer. Across the board Insomnia is a cracker of a movie, a film that goes into the murky depths of the genre to reveal one of the best movies of 2002. 9/10

I'm really glad I watched the Norwegian version of Insomnia (1997) first. The 2002 remake pretty much stuck to the same script, but with a few different angles. The opening of the 2002 I found much more commanding. You really saw and appreciated the isolation, ice-capped mountains, dense forests and fogs of northern Norway, more so than in the original. And I liked that in the American version, the suspect had dogs; that was a nice touch — made it a bit more likely that his story about it being an accident was more likely true, at first anyway. TO GO WITH STORY TITLED INSOMNIA--Al Pacino and Hillary Swank in Alcon EntertainmentÕs suspense-thriller ÒInsomnia.Ó (AP Photo/ Warner Bros. Pictures). I think when I watched the original with the subtitles, I missed some of the nuances about the problems the Inspector was having with internal affairs, in the States in the 2002 version. This is why he has so much trouble with the accidental shooting of his partner — he seems uncertain, himself, as to whether it was an accident or not. And the lady cop, played by Hilary Swank in the American version, has a much more important role in the story — all the way through but especially at the end, which was different. Actors Al Pacino (L) and Robin Williams are shown in a scene from their new suspense thriller film "Insomnia," also starring Hilary Swank. Pacino portrays a Los Angeles police detective assigned to help solve a murder in Alaska. The film opened May 24, 2002 in the United States. (NO SALES) REUTERS/Warner Bros./Handout It's quite prophetic when Inspector Dormer (Al Pacino) is looking at the body of the victim in the morgue and says, "He crossed the line with this one. You don't come back from that." It's not only prophetic for the killer, Walter Finch (Robin Williams in one of his more serious and sinister roles) but also for himself. He, too crosses the line, but at the very end he succeeds in coming back from it — only just. There was quite a bit of abusive sex in the original that was left out in the remake, but the remake had its share of foul language. The shack in the newer movie was in a much more isolated place that made it more believable, I thought, as a place of privacy for clandestine meetings, and I liked the way the tip-off to the suspect came from an accidental squeal from a megaphone. Also, the differences between the partners from Los Angeles (Pacino and Martin Donovan) was much more visible, which lent itself to the question of whether the shooting was really accidental or not, and Pacino hallucinates during the search, thinking he sees his partner as one of the searchers. Nice touch! All in all, I think I preferred the American remake but I'm glad I watched both. The foreign one was interesting, partly because of the actors being unknown to me, but I thought the American one, perhaps with a bigger budget, showed the setting off better and I liked the changes to the script — especially the ending. Absolutely amazing!