Plot: What’s it about?
What do you get when you take three Academy Award Winning actors, combine them with the director of one of the most talked about movies of the last year (Memento) and throw in a great script? Well, the answer is as clear as day (no pun intended)…you get Insomnia. Pitting the bleak Alaskan landscape with the three lead actors was quite a task, but the result was stunning. In a way, Insomnia is a lot like it’s predecessor, Memento. Both feature the lead (Guy Pearce in Memento and Al Pacino here) who suffer from a physical setback that stand in the way of them finding out the truth. Where Detective Will Dormer (Pacino) finds that he can’t sleep due to the almost contstant daylight; it prohibits him from performing the duties of his job. At the same time, we can’t forget Leonard Shelby (Pearce) in Memento who can’t retain memories for more than a few minutes. Both are looking for the truth, but must overcome some pretty intense mental and physical situations in order to make that happen. Thrillers don’t get more basic than this, and maybe that’s what is so intriguing about this new offering from Director Christopher Nolan.
On loan from the Los Angeles Police Department, Detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his partner head up to the bleak Alaskan frontier to assist in the investigation of a murder. It seems that the body found was killed in a way that suggested more were to follow. Young “go getter” Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank) is the newest policeman on the force and has studied the ways and methods of Dormer. Anxious to get the ball rolling, all three start the investigation. However, while pursuing the killer, Dormer accidentally shoots his partner and he now finds himself on the other side of the law trying to cover up a crime that no one knows he committed. To add fuel to the fire, there was some tension between the two and the movie suggests that Dormer killed him to silence him. We have to decide to the contrary. Let us not forget another great performance by Robin Williams, who holds his own with Pacino here. The film has been compared to those of the great Alfred Hitchcock, and it combines a lot of the same elements that made his movies so popular.
The landscape is the perfect setting for a film like this. A movie that comes close (but not one of my favorites) is Fargo. Granted this isn’t the same noir genre that Fargo is, but the physical setting comes into play and is more than a backdrop, it factors into the plot of the movie. Insomnia is one of the more original movies to come around and it’s got me curious to see how Nolan might follow up his one-two punch of Memento and this movie. Great performances from the main three leads and a rather star-studded ensemble cast (Nikki Katt, Maura Tierney and Paul Dooley just to name a few) make for one great, and suspensful, film. Highly recommended.
Video: How does it look?
As with Memento, this film is shot in a very wide 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that looks gorgeous! The Alaskan landscape is shown in it’s full glory, ice-capped mountains and all. From the very opening shots, we know we’re in for a great ride as the transfer is nearly flawless. I noticed no edge enhancement at all and the detail is among the best I’ve seen in the filmed arena. Granted, the movie is new and new to DVD as well so we can expect a good-looking transfer at the very least. My only complaint might be that the flesh tones seem to be very saturated, but this could be due to the very washed out look of the entire film. Or maybe Pacino just needs more makeup to look good these days! In any case, this is a top-notch effort and no one should be disappointed with how this is presented on a fine-looking DVD.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack isn’t quite as impressie as the audio, but then again it’s not really supposed to be. For more of a dialogue-driven movie, the sound is fairly accurate. Some scenes have and use more of the sound than others, but it’s not overdone here as I feel it was with Memento. Dialogue is very clean here, enough that we can hear every whisper of Pacino’s voice as he becomes more and more tired throughout the entire movie. For the most part, the stage used is the front three speakers, but the surrounds kick in at the appropriate times. While this isn’t “reference-quality” here, it’s not a bad track. It does everything a good soundtrack is supposed to do, it gets you more involved in the movie.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Featuring not one, but two audio commentaries, Insomnia comes packed with enough extras to keep us interested, while not crossing that line into “2 Disc Special Editions” that we know we’ll never watch all the supplements included. First up is a rather interesting commentary track with Hilary Swank and some of the other crew members. Though it doesn’t run the entire film (about 45 minutes) it’s a nice contrast to the very technical track with Nolan. Nolan himself does give a great commentary and if anyone knows the value of “Screen Specific” it’s Christopher Nolan. Some short featurettes don’t do a lot to add to the movie, though they’re rather typical, they don’t run over 10 minutes. “Day for Night: The Making of Insomnia”, “In the Fog” and “Eyes Wide Open” which is a rather interesting, if not sad, piece on real-life insomniacs. An additional scene with optional commentary by Nolan is also included; but the rather dull scene between Maura Tierney’s character was ultimately left on the cutting room floor. Also included are some cast and crew bios, “From the Evidence Room” is a gallery of photos and the theatrical trailer round out the supplements. Additionally, some DVD-ROM material is included, albeit very brief. A nice disc, a great movie and what a great-looking transfer! Could you ask for more?
