Insomnia DVD Review
Posted by Jacob Ziegler on 10.21.2002
When a film can boast three Academy Award winners, it certainly has some bragging rights. Toss in a director on a hot streak, and it's easy to see why this film created a stir.
Insomnia
Release Date: October 15, 2002
The Film
After the stunning success of Memento, fans and critics alike eagerly anticipated director Christopher Nolan’s next film. Lucky for all of us, the extremely talented director was able to score Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank to star in a remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name.
Pacino plays Will Dormer, a detective brought up to Nightmute, Alaska, where the sun always shines. This wreaks havoc on Will’s sleeping pattern, as he was already having trouble sleeping. He hooks up with a young police officer, Ellie Burr (Swank) who studied one of Dormer’s cases in college for her case study. Dormer, Burr, and Dormer’s partner Hap are to find out who killed a young girl.
I do not want to say too much more (even though the trailer reveals plenty). Suffice to say that the film is a brilliant psychological game of cat-and-mouse, between Dormer and Finch (Robin Williams), who admits to Dormer about thirty minutes into the movie that he killed the girl. But so meticulous was this act, that there is no proof, only Finch’s word. This sets off a strange relationship between the two, which is based on respect. Dormer will not admit he respects Finch, but the audience can see that he does.
The film is technically brilliant. Nolan does another brilliant job directing, and his team of editor Dody Dorn, cinematographer Wally Pfister, and music writer David Julyan do an amazing job creating the bleak, grim atmosphere. And I would be remiss to not mention the outright greatness of the three lead actors. Their performances all rank among their best (particularly Williams), and they carry an already great film to an even greater level. This film should be remembered at the end of the year for those vaunted top-10 lists. I know it will be on mine.
Video Quality Insomnia was transferred in Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1. The picture is absolutely pristine, capturing the awesome atmosphere the film presents. Of course, the film looks better in widescreen, but a full frame version is also available.
Audio Quality Insomnia received the full Dolby 5.1 treatment, and it sounds awesome. The dialogue is great, and the musical score comes through beautifully. Even in the few “action” sequences in the movie, the sound quality is as good as could possibly be.
Special Features
Thankfully, Warner Brothers spared no expense with the features, and gave us some really good material. There are two commentaries, one by director Christopher Nolan, which is presented in order of shooting sequence, which is a really cool feature. The other features Hilary Swank, Production Designer Nathan Crowley, Editor Dody Dorn, Cinematographer Wally Pfister, and screenwriter Hillary Seitz. Four featurettes are also on the disc. The first is “Day For Night,” a making-of documentary. Another is “180,” a conversation with Nolan and Pacino. The third is called “In the Fog,” which explores the cinematography and production design. The last one is really cool, called “Eyes Wide Open,” which features real insomniacs talking about their world. Great stuff here.
Film: 9.0
Video Quality: 9.0
Audio Quality: 9.0
Special Features: 9.0
The 411: Insomnia is the best kind of DVD to buy. First of all, it is a truly great film, and that alone is worth purchasing. But the presentation is also excellent, with great video and audio transfers, and a bevy of cool special features. What really makes the DVD so great, however, is the performances. Robin Williams makes us forget about Death to Smoochy with a chilling, nuanced performance. Pacino is his usual excellent self, and Hillary Swank continues to build an impressive resume. Nolan has got to be the hottest young director since Tarantino, and if the rest of his films can be anywhere near as good as this, he’s got a long career ahead of him.
