NOTE
(Added on: 12/27/03): Ahem. Reading this review from
almost two years ago makes me nauseous, as many others do.
However, there's false information in this one that should not
be ignored. Insomnia doesn't make my top 100 of
all-time, and probably not even my top 300. Correction noted?
Okay, good.
As I
think about it, Insomnia is the best movie so far this
year. Even though it doesn't have much of a twist to it, it
still is one heck of a thriller. Everything was perfect about
this movie except for one minor flaw. The cast was right, the
setting was right, the direction was right; Insomnia
easily makes my top 100 movies list. I respected the
atmosphere of this movie the most, it just felt right when I
was watching it (aside from the fact that I strained my neck
because I was forced to sit in the 2nd row.)
Insomnia takes place in small town
Alaska,
where it is light out all day and all night. I bet you can
guess where the sleeping problems come in to play? Will Dormer
(Al Pacino) is a top detective who flies into town to
investigate the death of a teenage girl. He soon finds out
that the murderer is Walter Finch (Robin Williams). But he
decides that he better not tell for awhile because Finch knows
a secret about Dormer that could ruin him for life. The
murder-investigation soon makes its way into his
sub-conscious, creating severe insomnia. While Dormer is
trying to get some sleep, young trainee Ellie Burr (Hilary
Swank) knows he is up to something; leading Dormer to think
that she knows too much, and is on his tail.
The cast is what really amazes me in Insomnia, who
knows how they got three big stars in one small movie! Al
Pacino is one of the greatest actors alive and I greatly
admire his work. This was also a nice turnaround for Robin
Williams, instead of playing the nice, comic guy, he was the
apprehensive, but dangerous nerdy criminal. And Hilary, oh
yes! She reminds me of the young Jodie Foster. Watching her in
this role was like watching the Clarice Starling of the new
millennium. Everyone just flat-out nailed their part in this
film.
The one flaw that I would like to talk about in this
movie would be in the beginning. I thought that they put
together a tacky first scene that needed some improvement. The
green screen job was kind of half-assed, considering the new
technology that we have in this day and age. I mean, five
years ago I would've loved it, but now with advanced
technology, there was definitely room for improvement. The
movie as a whole was amazing, but this scene really bothered
me.
In conclusion, Insomnia is the best movie so far
this year and one of the greatest murder-mysteries ever. You
should definitely spend the seven some odd bucks and go and
see it now! It was a great piece, and all of the work put into
it shall be admired. I deem Insomnia one of the
greatest one-hundred movies ever made in the history of film!
-Danny,
Bucket Reviews