Insomnia would be a perfect police noir except that it’s missing one crucial element: the night. Set in northern Alaska, where the midnight sun keeps the darkness at bay, this smart crime thriller stars Al Pacino as a Los Angeles police detective called north to track down a suspected murderer (Robin Williams). Considering this is a remake of a superior 1997 Norwegian film, director Christopher Nolan doesn’t create anything nearly as inventive as his Memento, but at least Insomnia is expertly conventional.
