Something about Insomnia just did not work. I mean, it had the makings of a great movie, and to be honest, it almost was a great movie. But there was just something missing, something lacking from the basic feel of the movie that couldn't really be made up for, no matter how hard Pacino, Williams, and director Chris Nolan tried.
The story is pretty obviously a remake of a Norwegian film made in the 90s, which apparently is pretty superior to this; one thing that this film succeeded at was making me put that film on the top of my list of films to see. The general idea of the story is excellent, with the guilt and insanity of the murder case thrown in with Dormer's (Pacino's) own guilt for the accidental murder of his partner and his shady tactics used to put a child murderer behind bars in LA.
The insomnia of the midnight sun is absolutely perfect. It seems as though insomnia is a great subject for Nolan to tackle, since in each and every one of his movies to date involves his depiction of the acute sensory details of his characters' illusions and flashbacks. In Memento, it's Guy Pearce's momentary flashbacks of his wife being brutally beaten. In The Prestige, there are very specific images of drowning and guilty flashbacks. Even in Batman Begins he uses a very acute, jumpy imagery to portray the effects of Scarecrow's hallucinogen. In Insomnia, he manages to use most of these tricks the entire movie--the jumpy eye movements, the flashes of light, the strange sounds of everyday life echoing in the ears. On the level of Nolan's direction, the film in beautiful.
However, something is just wrong with the script. Nothing is really ever played out as it should be--it's not as though there's much to be desired. I can't really even place my finger on it. I mean, the film is a taut, nearly explosive thriller. But why did I feel so disconnected from it? My only explanation is that the pacing of the film was just slightly off, and the ending was a pretty cliched, making use of a awfully bland and textbook performance by Hilary Swank (bleh). I mean, even she sort of contributed to the film's overall lackluster feel, and she should have been a huge asset.
Pacino and Williams are great...it's actually really interesting to see Pacino play a role like this, since his character's are usually so collected and outspoken, while in this he is forced to downplay and portray a man who is slowly going insane from lack of sleep. ("Six days," says Williams. "You beat my record.")
The film is worth watching, because it's surely entertaining and well-made. Nolan really tries his hardest, and there's nothing you can say to criticize his direction. But the script is lacking, and Hilary Swank pretty much sucks.