Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" Review

Today for my lunch break I watched Christopher Nolan's Alaskan murder mystery Insomnia, starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank.  I was interested to find out that this was actually a remake of yet another Swedish film of the same name, released in 1997.  (Those Swedes seem to love their dark murder mysteries... See Oplev's version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Alfredson's Let the Right One In.)

In Christopher Nolan's Insomnia, two Los Angeles homicide detectives go on assignment to a small Alaskan town where the sun doesn't set to help local police investigate the murder of a local teenager.  Things start getting cagey when Det. Dormer (Al Pacino) accidentally shoots his partner Det. Eckhart (Martin Donovan) while chasing a suspect on foggy mountain terrain.  From here, Det. Dormer's lack of sleep, guilty conscience, and involvement with a shady crime novelist (Robin Williams) push him to the brink as he attempts to solve the mystery.
It sounds like an interesting enough premise, and I love seeing Pacino's character work, especially with all the factors weighing against him.  But this isn't my favorite of Christopher Nolan's movies.  I hate to call it his worst because Insomnia is actually pretty decent.  But compared to all his other work, even his very first short film Doodlebug, Insomnia just doesn't do it for me.  I think it's his least entertaining, most uninspired film to date.  There seemed to be no noteworthy plot twists, and aside from Pacino and Williams, the characters seemed very one-dimensional and devoid of mystery.  I couldn't help thinking I've seen this movie a hundred times before.  I've come to expect more from Nolan, especially after his exciting work with Memento and the Batman trilogy.  I will say I actually enjoyed seeing a serious side of Robin Williams.  He wasn't melodramatic, and I enjoyed watching him toy with Al Pacino's weaknesses a little bit.  I was okay with the fact that he didn't make me laugh at all because it wouldn't have worked for the character.  It's unusual to see Williams portray the villain, but after seeing Insomnia I think he was perfect for the role.  I thought the cinematography and sound editing were also well done.  I felt like I was actually in the brisk Alaskan locations, and I got a true sense of what Det. Dormer's "insomniatic" impairments were like for him.
Check this one out if you're a fan of Christopher Nolan's work.  If not, you're better off watching something else.  3 of 4 stars.