Robin Williams used to be the king of all things sappy. From The Bicentennial Man to Patch Adams and Jakob the Liar Mr. Williams has often starred in family films that tend to overwhelm the viewer and alienate many people in the audience. He quickly became hated for his sappy films and pretty soon the public stopped going to anything he was appearing in. The recent Death to Smoochy is case in point of Williams rapid decline in popularity and box office draw. Now he again turns to a role that is anything but typical for him as a serial killer in the Christopher Nolan directed thriller Insomnia also starring Al Pacino and Hillary Swank.
Detective Dormier (Al Pacino) is sent to a small Alaskan town to investigate the brutal murder of a teenage girl. While investigating he comes face to face with the prime suspect (Robin Williams) and is then forced into a game of cat and mouse that threatens his own well-being with the deranged killer.
First off, Robin Williams, it must be known, turns in a good performance as the deranged serial killer. He actually sidesteps the opportunity to overact in the way only he can. He delivers his lines with the appropriate amount of emotion without overdoing it. He also sufficiently displayed the madness of his jumble of emotions character. Of course, Al Pacino is great as detective Dormier. He perfectly shows the waning emotions of a person so involved in something that they could just go crazy themselves at any moment. As Pacino’s partner, Hillary Swank also delivers in her underwritten role. She shows here that her Oscar for Boys Don’t Cry wasn’t a fluke.
Christopher Nolan’s direction is skillful in the way he slowly reveals the plot twists and lets the brilliant cast act their hearts out without getting in the way. He’s another person who shows in Insomnia that he is definitely not a one-hit wonder. He also expertly weaves flashy editing techniques to reinforce the utter madness of the killer and Dormier’s descent into going crazy. He and the cast are helped by a great script by a variety of screenwriters that tell a great serial killer thriller intertwined with an interesting character study.
Overall, Insomnia is not just a well-done serial killer thriller with some great plot twists; it is also an intriguing character study that makes it a thriller above any other. Insomnia is almost perfect.
Rating: 95
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