The UnPopular Opinion: Insomnia

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

THE UNPOPULAR OPINION is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATHED. We're hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. Enjoy!

****SOME SPOILERS ENSUE****

One of my favorite things about writing this column is the sheer number of readers who think I am trolling them.  Yeah, I am the guy who didn't love THE AVENGERS.  Yeah, I am the guy who truly enjoyed THE FANTASTIC FOUR.  So, what?  One of the beauties of reviewing films is that it is the viewer's opinion and just because mine may not match up with yours, it doesn't mean that I am wrong.  Feel free to criticize my taste, but never take away my right to disagree with you.  I have taken down films by Martin Scorsese and David Fincher because, while they are brilliant filmmakers, they are not flawless.  This week, in high anticipation of INTERSTELLAR, I am taking down a film by the great Christopher Nolan.

After his outstanding debut FOLLOWING and the brilliant MEMENTO, Christopher Nolan was still years away from reinventing the Batman mythos.  In between that period, Nolan took on the task of remaking a film not even half a decade old in INSOMNIA and it remains his weakest film to date.  Much like what happened to David Fincher when he remade THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, INSOMNIA feels like a filmmaker slumming it to appease the studio gods and allow him to make the movies he truly wanted to make.  Once BATMAN BEGINS gave him carte blanche, Nolan would go on to adapt novels (THE PRESTIGE) and bring original creations (INCEPTION) to audiences expecting nothing less than brilliance.  So, where did INSOMNIA go wrong?

Most awkward first date ever.

In short: it doesn't feel like Christopher Nolan.  Yeah, visually it certainly shares similarities with all of the director's works, but INSOMNIA feels like Nolan adding onto an already existing film rather than creating it from the ground up.  Nolan did write the final draft of the film despite not receiving a credit for Hillary Seitz's screenplay, but it feels like he added his hallmarks into the finished product as best as he could.  Where BATMAN BEGINS works is in the complete reinvention of the DC Comics character rather than trying to add onto the existing film franchise.  INSOMNIA, especially for those who have seen the original Norweigan film, is just boring.

On paper, Al Pacino starring as a cop who cannot sleep tracking a killer through the eternal daylight of Alaska sounds like a brilliant thriller.  Casting Robin Williams as the murderer in a surreal cat and mouse mystery has everything going for it.  Even the inclusion of Hilary Swank as the local cop on the hunt alongside Pacino works.  So, why doesn't it come together on screen?  There is just nothing here beyond what you see on screen.  Nolan has always had loads of subtext in his films that make the movie more of a puzzle to be solved rather than a rote movie you sit back and watch.  INSOMNIA remains the only film that could be consider formulaic or by the numbers out of any of Nolan's movies and it is a damn shame with the caliber of performances on display here.

Would love to scream "hoo-ah!" right here and scare Pacino.

INSOMNIA looks amazing.  The movie is stunning and Nolan along with cinematographer Wally Pfister make full use of the natural backgrounds as the Alaskan wilderness plays a vital role as a character unto itself.  But, there should be a lurking feeling of dread in the movie, something to imitate Detective Will Dormer (Pacino) as he endures the emotional turmoil from an internal affairs investigation involving a previous crime.  Pfister's visual approach to this film would echo through all of his future partnerships with Nolan and yet it feels under-used in INSOMNIA.  There is a disconnect between the performances on screen and the landscape of the film which prevents the audience from fully entering the world of the picture.

Al Pacino and Robin Williams are two actors capable of any number of performances and each feels perfectly cast in this movie.  Pacino especially seemed on the verge of a career resurgence with INSOMNIA while the late Williams continued to cement a profound ability to play the creepy underside of the human psyche.  Both seem on equal footing as the face off in this film but despite a just ending to the character arcs, it never feels like it was worth the preceeding two hours of viewing.  Pacino's performance is a wholly different take than what Stellan Skarsgård brought to the 1997 original and yet Pacino's performance still feels lacking something to make it feel complete.

Nolan demonstrates the proper Darth Vader choke hold to Robin Williams.

Comparing INSOMNIA to either MEMENTO or THE PRESTIGE seems fitting since both of those films involve mysteries and puzzles that need to be solved.  At it's core, INSOMNIA is a mystery but there is neither incentive nor motivation to solve it.  INCEPTION was a film about dreams and yet this film feels like it is the one that is asleep.  Christopher Nolan is full of ambition and prowess and there is no doubt that there will be any number of masterpieces to come in his career, but INSOMNIA remains the one missed opportunity on his resume.  No, missed opportunity sounds like this movie could have been saved.  In the end it feels like a bad decision to have even taken on the remake since Nolan's gift is in reinvention and reimagining what we expect from films, not rehashing a tale already told.