Insomnia (2002)

Today in History !!

Today marks the day that Alaska became a state in 1959. In honor of that, and the fact that Phil couldn't get any sleep, here is our review of INSOMNIA (2002).......

Run Time:  118 mins

Genre:  Crime, Drama, Suspence

Format:  Widescreen Format, Color

Director:  Christopher Nolan

Starring:  Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan, Maura Tierney and Robin Williams

IMDB.com Entry for the film:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278504/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Wikipedia.org Article for the film:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insomnia_(2002_film)

Wikipedia.org Article for Hilary Swank:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilary_Swank

Wikipedia.org Article for Director Christopher Nolan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan

Insomnia affects millions of people every day.  Not being able to sleep.  That must really suck.  In the great state of Alaska the sun is out for almost a full 24 hours a day during parts of the summer.  Not being able to sleep!  Seeing the Sun at 10pm!  That would drive anybody nuts.  You can probably see how insomnia could make life very stressful for someone in that position, especially if it involves murder.  Christopher Nolan, cooks up a great Crime-Drama that involves a major lack of sleep.  

In the town of Nightmute, Alaska a teenage girl is murdered and Al Pacino’s seasoned LAPD detective, Will Lormer, is sent in to help solve the crime.  Hillary Swank plays Ellie, a local police officer, who considers Will a mentor of sorts, she eventually becomes suspicious of Will, when the killer, played by the late, great, Robin Williams begins pulling Will further into madness as the insomnia begins to take its toll.  This is a huge departure for Robin Williams.  He handles it quite well, channeling his energy into making his character as creepy as it is sympathetic and combining Nolan’s edgy storytelling, they both manage to make us believe this sick man could do this serious crime.  Pacino is so good at showing how tired he is.  I was wondering if he actually didn’t sleep for this role.  It’s amazing and Christopher Nolan’s inter-cutting close up shots of things in the scene, mixed in with flashbacks helps us understand the power of insomnia. 
- Phil 

Just for fun:  This film is actually a remake of a 1997 Norwegian film of the same name.  Here is the trailer for that film on YouTube.  It's not in English.  You can try YouTube's English Closed Captioning.  It works slightly, but you get the idea:


Click the link below at GoWatchIt.com to see where you can stream or watch Insomnia (2002) online or on TV right now.
http://gowatchit.com/movies/insomnia-35773

Or check out TVGuide.com to see if this film is playing on TV/Cable in your area:
http://www.tvguide.com/movies/insomnia/135796/


CHECK IN TOMORROW for our film of the day !!!