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review of insomnia

Posted by njjohn (A) on October 19, 2002 at 20:55:34

In Reply to: I hope you got the right Insomnia posted by Victor Khomenko on October 19, 2002 at 19:02:49:

i did not realize it was a remake. i have the one just came out. it was not easy to get from the video store since it's been pretty popular since it came out about a week ago.

i was told it was by the same director as 'memento'. i'm under the impression that 'memento' was his first movie, and 'insomnia' is his second movie. but i could be wrong.

i was very impressed by 'memento'. 'insomnia' is not of the same caliber as i thought 'memento' was. maybe i was just dazzled by the style of 'mkemento' and i overrated it. but it could also just be a regression by the director towards the mean, towards more ordinary
filmmaking.

both movies try to get at fundamental issues. 'memento' tries to really get at a fundamental truth which is that self-deception is more primary than anything else.

'insomnia' raises an ethical issue also, but one not as fundamental nor as interesting as in 'memento'. but one worth discussing nevertheless.

the movie itself is pretty good suspense/action/thriller. typical, pretty good hollywood fare. maybe a bit better than that. kind of worth seeing unless you really have a strict cut-off point. if you just wanted to see really good quality films, i wouldn't see it. but if you want a decent movie, better than hollywood average, then see it.

i like the location of the film in alaska. it had natural beauty in the scenery, but it also had a bit of the feeling of starkness like in the film 'fargo'. i actually think 'fargo' is a more clever film.

the issue of 'insomnia' though is a bit ridiculous. it really does not serve a sufficient role in the film other than to add to some special effects. it's completely superfluous to the plot, serving no purpose whatsoever other than a little drapery. so to name the film 'insomnia' kind of suggests that the director is off the mark in some way. maybe the whole film is a little off the mark.

if it is a remake, perhaps like many remakes, it does not quite hit the mark. it's entertainment, wants to be more, does pretty well trying to handle nuances, but the whole direction of the film gets a little lost in my opinion. the pieces of the film are not optimized into a sufficient whole.

the director is probably capable of more, and perhaps this may turn out to be not one of his stronger films. maybe he;'s leaned some lessons from this film. or maybe he will just keep sliding towards the hollywood mean.

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