Insomnia (2002)

Part of the series B-Side Cinema: Five Overlooked Movies from Great Directors. Host Daniel Simpson will introduce the screening on Thursday July 20 @ 5:40pm.

When a teenager is murdered in Nightmute, Alaska, L.A. detectives Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart are sent to aid local police. The case quickly becomes complicated however when a shootout in thick-fog goes massively wrong. Dormer is also plagued by the unending Alaskan daylight, contributing to a pronounced insomnia. Also starring Robin Williams playing against type as a violent killer, Insomnia was the first studio movie from Christopher Nolan, bridging low-budget indies like Memento and the massive spectacle of The Dark Knight Trilogy.

It’s gripping entertainment in a popular vein — the police procedural — that nevertheless follows no preconceived formulas.

Houston Chronicle

Atmospheric and deeply attuned to nuance, Insomnia is a thinking ticket buyer’s murder mystery.

Detroit News