Insomnia: christopher nolan does it again!

[Guest Downhome]

First off, Christopher Nolan is one of my biggest influences when it comes to film and screenwriting. With films such as Following and Memento, both of which reached cult following levals, he is well on his way to a succesfull Hollywood career. Then, today came, his 3rd film was released, Insomnia. Based on a 1997 Norwegian film written by Nikolaj Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjærg, Insomnia is a true work of art in the world of film.

 

Christopher Nolan takes all that was the 1997 film, and brings it to the next leval, using his own style of dirrecting, a musical score with shades of Memento, and an all star cast. Al Pacino and Robin Williams pulls out the greatest performances of their careers in the past decade, if not in their ENTIRE careers in my eyes.

 

Pacino once again excells in the role of master dective, while Williams takes this chance to show his "dark side", and he does it damn well. I can only hope that this is a rebirth of Robin Williams, and as it stands with his upcoming film One Hour Photo (which he once again plays a dark, psychotic role), it seems to be just that! Hilary Swank also pulls out what IS the greatest role of her career.

 

Insomnia brings you in as an audiance, with it's perfectly woven plot, with a Film Noir feel to it, just as Nolan's first two films. It is a roller coster ride of drama and suspense as you watch Al Pacino from the very begining unravel, and the rest of the story and his past catches up with him. I can not say much more about it, as I do not wish to spoil anything about if for you, but I do want to say this...

 

...go see it, right now, and enjoy. If you love crime/mystery/drama films with that wonderful Film Noir feel to it, you will love this film. If that isn't your thing, then the performances of the three main actors are worth the price of a ticket in itself.

 

Finally I just want to say, that Insomnia proves once and for all that Christopher Nolan will indeed be a force to recon with in Hollywood. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

 

...Christopher Nolan is well on his way to becoming the Hollywood legend which he proves he is capable of becoming.

 

Sincerely,

...Downhome...

[Guest Anorak]

Are you his publicist or something?

[Guest areacode212]

Damn, I could have seen this (before everyone else!) at the Tribeca Film Festival a few weeks ago, but I didn't know it was going to be shown there.

[Guest]

I just saw it myself, and I also enjoyed it. Great performances by everyone, especially Williams, who proved he can be more than just the funny guy. The movie looks great, and Pacino does a great job of looking worse day by day due to lack of sleep.

 

The story is quite clever, and certainly not what I expected. Some people may find the pacing a bit slow, but I had a good time.

[Guest Human Fly]

Very good. People I saw it with all had varying opinions. Pacino's character is excellent, as is Robin William's. Hillary Swank does a good job as well. The all day aspect of it plays off really well. Nolan and David Fincher are two filmmakers to keep your eyes on.

[Guest godthedog]

i liked it, but wasn't blown away by it.  although there's some very non-mainstream issues it deals with, some of the stuff was too hollywood for me (mostly stuff at the end) and didn't seem to fit the rest of the movie.  had they put another twist on it and ended it 10 minutes earlier, it probably would've been a great movie.

[Guest]

Too many twists can ruin a movie. A good screenplay doesn't have to rely on twists.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Haven't seen this version yet, but if you liked it or are interested in seeing where it came from, go rent the original, a Scandanavian film from 1997 (or was it 98?) starring Stellan Skarsgaard (from Good Will Hunting, Ronin, Breaking the Waves, and heaps of other stuff) in the Pacino role.  It's got a great look to it, portrays amazing characters, and is tremendously draining.

 

I hope the Hollywood Insomnia lives up to the mantle...

[Guest El Satanico]

Nolan and David Fincher are two filmmakers to keep your eyes on.

Hey don't forget about Darren Aronofsky when talking about filmmakers to keep a eye on.

[Guest Human Fly]

"Hey don't forget about Darren Aronofsky when talking about filmmakers to keep a eye on."

 

I heard he was attached to the next Batman movie (if and when it ever happens). Do you know if that's true?

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I saw Insomnia this afternoon, and while it was a great, solid film, I'll admit I wasn't really blown away either.  Chalk it up to me expecting a gimmick and not getting it, I'm funny like that, if I'm expecting something, no matter how stupid and no matter how good the film really is, if it doesn't deliver on the stupid thing it's not really that great.  Brilliant performances though but... it's not very thrilling.  But then 99% of all thrillers are like that for me.  Would you consider it a thriller?

[Guest El Satanico]

I heard he was attached to the next Batman movie (if and when it ever happens). Do you know if that's true?

Yes i'm pretty sure he still is. I haven't read anything about that changing so i assume.

 

It's rumored to be Batman: Year One which i've heard was a very good comic book story. But like you said it's matter of IF and when concerning the movie getting made. However with the superhero movie explosion i'm assuming it will get made.

 

I liked Aronofsky's two movies alot and i think he has the talent to be considered one of the best directors at some point in his career. So needless to say I'm very interested in seeing him direct this Batman movie. I want to see how he handles Hollywood and big budgets. If he can manage to save the Batman franchise then he'll be well on his way to a succesful career. More importantly if he has succes with Batman it wouldn't be long until he was in a position to have the freedom to make the kind of movies that he wants to make.

[Guest El Satanico]

Chalk it up to me expecting a gimmick and not getting it, I'm funny like that, if I'm expecting something, no matter how stupid and no matter how good the film really is, if it doesn't deliver on the stupid thing it's not really that great.

What gimmick were you expecting?

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Chalk it up to me expecting a gimmick and not getting it, I'm funny like that, if I'm expecting something, no matter how stupid and no matter how good the film really is, if it doesn't deliver on the stupid thing it's not really that great.

What gimmick were you expecting?

From what I read in earlier reviews, I was expecting a lot more sight/visual impairment shots.  If they didn't keep mentioning the insomnia aspect throughout the film, there would have been no other way that was apparent.  The sight/visual impairment shots that were in the film were done well, so I was a bit disappointed that there weren't more of them.

 

Damn critics... they misled me! Like I said, it was still a good movie... even if it was in the proper order (what? I thought that was his director's trademark?!).