Insomnia

Al Pacino (Will Dormer)	Robin Williams (Walter Finch)	Hilary Swank (Ellie Burr)	Maura Tierney (Rachel Clement)
Martin Donovan (Hap Eckhart)	Nicky Katt (Fred Duggar)	Paul Dooley (Chief Charles Nyback)	Jonathan Jackson (Randy Stetz)

What happens when you throw a challenge at an all-time great actor? You get "Insomnia", definitely one of the finest films of Al Pacino. This is the second movie to be released this year that was shot in Alaska. The first one was the lightweight Cuba Gooding entertainer, "Snow Dogs". Insomnia is way above it and will go down as a film with one of the best screenplays ever.

The story has enough ballast to rocket the film straightaway to a level from where Al Pacino, who has created magic from some pretty poor plots, takes it to even greater heights. Based on the 1997 film of the same name, the story begins with the arrival of Will

Dormer (Al Pacino) and Hap (Martin Donovan) in Alaska from L.A., ostensibly to solve a murder of a school girl. They have actually been sent there to keep them out of the way, while the Internal Affairs Division investigates corruption charges against them. Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank) is an young and enthusiastic cop who has studied the text books that describe the legendary cases solved by Will. Hap is ready to cut a deal with the Internal Affairs Division to walk out of the corruption mess. This will land Will into the hell-hole, however. Will accidentally shoots Hap while chasing the psychopath killer Walter Finch (Robin Williams). Unfortunately, the only witness to this tragedy is the killer himself - Will

Did Will really shoot Hap deliberately? He is not sure of it himself. Will goes through a tremendous conflict and the movie goes through some very taut and nerve-wracking scenes. In the end, the good cop wins, but loses too.

The movie gets its title from the insomnia that Will suffers from when he lands in Alaska because at that time of the year, the sun shines for 24 hours and it upsets Will's biological clock to the point where he is unable to sleep. When Will orders Ellie to join him for questioning the dead girl's boy friend, she informs him that it is 10 o'clock. Will does not get the point and she explains, "At night".

Director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter Hillary Seitz have done a stupendous job. Admittedly, they had a very strong plot to begin with, but when you have to direct two stalwarts like Pacino and Williams, you better have all your senses alert. And they have lived up to the expectations. In a plot where the killer is revealed very early on, you wonder what else is left for the next eighty minutes. You are actually gripping the armrests at several moments, thereafter, as Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hillary Swank, ably supported by the rest of the cast, take you on a journey that explores many moral, ethical and professional issues without becoming convoluted at any point.

Williams, for once, fails to steal the limelight despite a very creditable performance as a bad guy. Is it because he is up against an institution that is Al Pacino? Could be! Hillary Swank proves her Oscar winning performance in "Boys Don't Cry" was not a one-time wonder. She is natural as Ellie Burr who discovers the truth about Al Pacino and Martin Donovan. Maura Tierney, as the Manager of the lodge where Pacino is staying has pulled off a surprise performance despite the insignificant role.

The breath-taking beauty of Alaska is another highlight of the movie. In the end, of course, it is Al Pacino, who is yet again, the true Godfather.