Insomnia, Christopher Nolan's smashing follow-up to his cult hit Memento, is the best Hollywood film of 2002 so far. A remake of a 1997 Norwegian thriller of the same name, Insomnia is handsomely produced, expertly written, acted and directed, making for one hell of an atmospheric thriller.

Insomnia is the story of Will Dormer (Al Pacino), a veteran LAPD detective who travels to a small Alaskan town with his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) to investigate the disturbing murder of a seventeen year-old girl. Under the glare of the region's perpetual daylight, Dormer and Eckhart close in on the primary suspect, reclusive detective novelist Walter Finch (Robin Williams). During a tense stakeout on a rocky, fog-shrouded beach, Finch slips into the mist and out of Dormer's grasp. As he makes his escape, shots ring out...and Hap is killed.

As he struggles to cope with his sense of responsibility and remorse over his partner's death, the brilliantly malevolent Finch forces Dormer into a psychological game of cat-and-mouse. The stakes escalate as Dormer contends with an unproven but perceptive local cop (Hilary Swank) and becomes increasingly entangled in Finch's web of manipulation. Unable to find respite from the relentless midnight sun or his own distorted judgment, the dangerously sleep-deprived detective finds his stability gravely threatened.

With Insomnia, Christopher Nolan shows us that he wasn't a one-trick pony with Memento. As with that film, Nolan, here working from newcomer Hilary Seitz's screenplay, takes us into the mind of the film's protagonist so we can share both his physical and mental experiences. He also does a great job in meticulously creating a tense, rich atmosphere (perfectly captured by cinematographer Wally Pfister and accompanied by David Julyan's haunting music score) that is hard to easily shake off once the film is over. Alfred Hitchcock would be proud.

Seitz's script is a beautifully complex, carefully mounted study of morality, full of the complex characters, rich interactions and verbal exchanges that seem no longer to exist in American cinema. Seitz's screenplay provides the type of smart thrills that no dim-witted Hollywood car chase or gun battle could ever dream of evoking. Academy members, take note of this name for next year: Hilary Seitz.

Al Pacino, no stranger to playing law officials with dark sides, turns in one of his best performances to date in this film. He does a perfect job in conveying Dormer's mental and physical unraveling under the endless daylight. This type of instability could have been a platform for Pacino's over-the-top scene chewing that he's displayed in such films as Heat and Scent Of A Woman. Thankfully, he takes the low-key, internal approach that makes Will Dormer a truly fascinating character.

Robin Williams matches Pacino's performance in terms of subtlety and greatness despite only being in the film for the second half. Like Pacino, Williams eschews the cinematic grandstanding and instead gives us an individual that slyly alternates between being humane and being a monster. Walter Finch is a character that sends shivers down our spine with a mere glance. I've always been a fan of Williams' dramatic roles more than his comedic ones and this is a performance worthy of comparison to The World According To Garp and Good Will Hunting.

Hilary Swank, receiving top billing alongside Pacino and Williams, does a fine job holding her own as the cop who is a lot smarter than she looks. In smaller roles, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt (as a local cop) and Jonathan Jackson (as the abusive boyfriend of the murder victim) also all turn in solid performances.

Insomnia is not the type of film you would normally see released during the summer movie season. There is no pop music soundtrack to sell, no product endorsements to brainwash us with nor are there any action figures to purchase at the local toy store. All the film has is itself. Since Insomnia is one the best thrillers to come out of Hollywood since The Silence Of The Lambs, that should be more than enough to ensure its success.

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