Insomnia, without even mentioning anything about the movie proper, has a lot going for it. A Hollywood remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, it is directed by Christopher Nolan, who’s Memento is possibly the most underrated thriller of last year. There is the cast... Al Pacino (7 Oscar nominations, win for Scent of a Woman), Robin Williams (3 nominations, win for Good Will Hunting) and Hilary Swank (Oscar for Boys Don’t Cry). And then there is the fact that Robin Williams plays the bad guy. All this is enough to make you fork out the cash just to see what all the fuss is about.

Oh yes, the plot – Big City LA Detective Will Dormer comes to Small Town Alaska, possibly to help solve a murder, possibly to escape the heat from Internal Affairs back home. He is greeted by the young and starry-eyed “you were my case study at the Academy” detective Ellie Burr and goes on to meet the (presumed) murderer Walter Finch. While the movie is a thriller, it’s not much of a who-dun-it, but more of a what’s-going-to-happen-next kind of morality play, with Dormer’s search meeting complication after complication – starting from friction with his partner to the fact that he can’t sleep in the unceasing light of Alaska’s midnight sun.

Pacino’s portrayal of Dormer is, well, what can one say about Pacino? Stellar? Perfect? You get the idea, every bit the tense intensity of a man right at the edge. Swank did a good job of Ellie Burr, which is fortunate, considering the clichéd nature of her role almost makes one cringe with every line. Williams, however, truly shines – this is possibly his biggest outing away from the comedic genre that is his origin and his genius; his dramatic roles have always been in feel-good movies, however depressing they seem to be (Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King). In Insomnia, his quiet staid demeanour breathes articulate life into (presumed) murderer Finch.

In addition to the cliché that is Swank’s character, the only glaring annoyance is the strange fact that Dormer never yawns once in six days without sleep (yawning is too cool for the Godfather?). Otherwise, the moral-pendulum that serves as the plot delightfully oscillates the characters from good to evil and back convincingly and unpredictably. While the pacing is uneven, possibly too slow in the beginning for some, the build-up of the movie’s many layers does a lot of credit to the movie’s tagline – don’t close your eyes.