Movie Review... Insomnia
May. 29th, 2002 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tvordljAl Pacino, Hilary Swank and Robin Williams as i've not seen him before. I went to the movie,a murder mystery, Insomnia today and i really enjoyed it. There wasn't one superfluous and unnecessary romantic scene in the whole movie! I hate when they do that. I'm all for a romance but not in my murder mysteries.
Al Pacino and his partner fly to a remote Alaskan city, ironically named Nightmute to help solve the murder of a 17 year old girl who was beaten to death. It's high summer so the nights are white and light. The two L.A. Cops are entangled in an Internal Affairs investigation so it seems like they welcome the chance to get out of Dodge for a few days. Hilary Swank is a young cop, not a rookie but not all that long out of the academy. She has admired Dalton (Pacino) for a long time, following his cases with interest. She loves her job but is usually relegated to misdemeanors.
Robin Williams is the murderer, that's no spoiler because it's revealed to us fairly early on, and the rest of the movie lurches towards trying to snare him. While trying to chase the as-yet unknown killer through a near non-visibility fog, Dalton accidentally kills his partner then proceeds to attempt to cover it up. He's a good cop, clever. But he and the murderer play a cat and mouse game while Dalton's conscience keeps him awake in the midnight sun for 6 nights.
Pacino's performance is brilliant, you can see him tire more and more every day, becoming less and less sharp and more and more strung out. He even moves and walks differently with his increasing exhaustion and the weight of his guilt on his shoulders. Robin Williams is fascinating to watch as he first seems to have the upper hand and then begins to unravel just ever so slightly, eager to talk about his crime, anxious to prove that he, a writer of detective novels, can out-maneuver Dalton. Hilary Swank's Ellie Burg is going to grow to be a very good cop, every bit as good as Dalton given time. She puts pieces together while Dalton tries to hide them.
I don't often go for this type of movie, usually i like the "chick" flicks, light and fluffy, stuff you don't have to concentrate on but i liked all three lead actors and knew it would be good. And it was. A solid 7 or 7.5 out of 10 in my books.
Al Pacino and his partner fly to a remote Alaskan city, ironically named Nightmute to help solve the murder of a 17 year old girl who was beaten to death. It's high summer so the nights are white and light. The two L.A. Cops are entangled in an Internal Affairs investigation so it seems like they welcome the chance to get out of Dodge for a few days. Hilary Swank is a young cop, not a rookie but not all that long out of the academy. She has admired Dalton (Pacino) for a long time, following his cases with interest. She loves her job but is usually relegated to misdemeanors.
Robin Williams is the murderer, that's no spoiler because it's revealed to us fairly early on, and the rest of the movie lurches towards trying to snare him. While trying to chase the as-yet unknown killer through a near non-visibility fog, Dalton accidentally kills his partner then proceeds to attempt to cover it up. He's a good cop, clever. But he and the murderer play a cat and mouse game while Dalton's conscience keeps him awake in the midnight sun for 6 nights.
Pacino's performance is brilliant, you can see him tire more and more every day, becoming less and less sharp and more and more strung out. He even moves and walks differently with his increasing exhaustion and the weight of his guilt on his shoulders. Robin Williams is fascinating to watch as he first seems to have the upper hand and then begins to unravel just ever so slightly, eager to talk about his crime, anxious to prove that he, a writer of detective novels, can out-maneuver Dalton. Hilary Swank's Ellie Burg is going to grow to be a very good cop, every bit as good as Dalton given time. She puts pieces together while Dalton tries to hide them.
I don't often go for this type of movie, usually i like the "chick" flicks, light and fluffy, stuff you don't have to concentrate on but i liked all three lead actors and knew it would be good. And it was. A solid 7 or 7.5 out of 10 in my books.
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Date: 2002-05-30 08:51 am (UTC)Okay...we've heard from Siskel....Now it's time to hear from Ebert.
(ed. note, oy i'm the fat one, i get to be Ebert!)
I haven't seen a movie in ages, but when I saw the cast in this one, I *had* to go. PLUS, I love intense mysteries. Another point of interest to me was that alot of it was filmed on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of BC and so I was very familiar with the "sets". I remember when Al Pacino was here....He caused quite the stir. There were pilgrimages out to the film set just to get a glimpse of him.
Ok...back to the movie....
All I can say is that Insomnia put me to sleep!! The storyline was predictable, shallow and a huge disappointment. The acting was superb.
Also, Diane....Pacino's character's last name was Dormer (was Dalton his first name? I don't remember). Anyway, I thought the name Dormer (meaning "to sleep" in French) was about as subtle an irony as perhaps a freight train or a warning shot to the spine.
I give this movie a solid 4 out of 10 because the popcorn was GREAT!
a chaque a son gout!!