X
  • 2002
  • R
  • Warner Bros.
  • 1 h 58 m
  • 2002
  • R
  • Warner Bros.
  • 1 h 58 m

Summary From acclaimed director Christopher Nolan ("Memento") comes the story of Will Dormer (Pacino), a veteran LAPD detective who travels to a small Alaskan town with his partner Hap (Donovan) to investigate the disturbing murder of a seventeen year-old girl. (Warner Bros.)

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Written By: Hillary Seitz, Nikolaj Frobenius, Erik Skjoldbjærg

  • 2002
  • R
  • Warner Bros.
  • 1 h 58 m
  • 2002
  • R
  • Warner Bros.
  • 1 h 58 m
Insomnia
Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 37 Critic Reviews
78
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 584 User Ratings
8.0
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary From acclaimed director Christopher Nolan ("Memento") comes the story of Will Dormer (Pacino), a veteran LAPD detective who travels to a small Alaskan town with his partner Hap (Donovan) to investigate the disturbing murder of a seventeen year-old girl. (Warner Bros.)

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Written By: Hillary Seitz, Nikolaj Frobenius, Erik Skjoldbjærg

Where to Watch

Top Cast

View All
View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 37 Critic Reviews
78
89% Positive
33 Reviews
8% Mixed
3 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 37 Critic Reviews
78
89% Positive
33 Reviews
8% Mixed
3 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
About as good a movie as you could have hoped for. Really good. Hole-in-one good.
By Shawn Levy FULL REVIEW
90
Gripping, highly dramatic thriller that more than confirms the distinctive talent of young Brit helmer Christopher Nolan.
By Todd McCarthy FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 584 User Ratings
8.0
85% Positive
496 Ratings
9% Mixed
52 Ratings
6% Negative
36 Ratings

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 584 User Ratings
8.0
85% Positive
496 Ratings
9% Mixed
52 Ratings
6% Negative
36 Ratings

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
10
Acquit77
Jul 20, 2021
⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙☆☆☆☆☆⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙●■●■●■●■●■●■●■● $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%÷%
Report
10
Pluto744
Jun 21, 2021
●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡●¡● ".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".".
Report
80
Sensationally made and in patches pretty nerve-jangling.
By David Edelstein FULL REVIEW
80
What Nolan does accomplish here that we haven't seen from him before is staging a few horrifyingly effective suspense set pieces -- one of which, in particular, is likely to stay with you for a long time.
By Andy Klein FULL REVIEW
75
Has to be appreciated simply for doing its job, for being the only thriller I've seen recently that made me wonder how my knuckles ended up in my mouth.
By Wesley Morris FULL REVIEW
70
The best thing about Insomnia is that despite director Christopher Nolan's soft spot for moody-blues obfuscation, he has the good sense to keep his star in practically every shot.
By Peter Rainer FULL REVIEW
38
Nolan pushes the twilight-zone atmosphere so hard that it loses its capacity for mystery. When it's not assaulting us with jolting audiovisual expressions of fatigue, this movie plays like a pedestrian response to David Lynch's effortlessly eerie "Twin Peaks."
By Michael Sragow FULL REVIEW
See All 37 Critic Reviews
10
Amirhosein2005
May 20, 2021
A complex, clever and surprising story with the unique play of Al Pacino and Robin Williams with a wonderful ending.
Report
6
csw12
Nov 7, 2014
Like the title, Insomnia will keep you awake and tuned in because of the directing but an incomplete and sub par ending make you wish you didn't have to focus so hard the entire film.
Report
6
RayzorMoose
Nov 12, 2013
Insomnia will keep you awake. Al Pacino stars in the mystery thriller that entertains but fails to reach a conclusion. A very well directed idea with a sub-par ending that doesn't allow it to reach its potential.
Report
4
axelkoch
Aug 21, 2013
Even though Nolan has several good approaches, Insomnia is nothing more than generic, unspectacular, and forgettable in the long run. Hillary Seitz’s adapted screenplay is laden with crime show stereotypes and gratuitous dialogue but lacks real character development or any unique elements. The best example for this is Hilary Swank who obviously has the most unfavourable role as an aspiring assistant detective that wants nothing more than to get advise from the old-established cop. Due to all of that, remarkable achievements in terms of visuals can’t help the film anymore than Pacino’s dedicated acting and Insomnia is best watched on a weekday evening while eating lunch and conversing with your partner.
Report
0
noob328
Dec 9, 2020
Like the title, Insomnia will keep you awake and tuned in because of the directing but an incomplete and sub par ending make you wish you didn't have to focus so hard the entire film.
Report
See All 47 User Reviews

Details

 View All
Production Company Alcon Entertainment, Witt/Thomas Productions, Section Eight, Insomnia Productions, Summit Entertainment
Release Date May 24, 2002
Duration 1 h 58 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Days never end. Nightmares are real. No one is innocent.
View All Details

Awards

London Critics Circle Film Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 2 Nominations
Italian Online Movie Awards (IOMA)
• 2 Nominations

Related Movies

Dekalog (1988)

100
Universal Acclaim

Voyage to Italy (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

Boyhood

100
Universal Acclaim

Three Colors: Red

100
Universal Acclaim

Notorious

100
Universal Acclaim

Casablanca

100
Universal Acclaim

Best Kept Secret

100
Universal Acclaim

Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974)

100
Universal Acclaim

Tokyo Story

100
Universal Acclaim

The Conformist

100
Universal Acclaim

Sweet Smell of Success (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

The Leopard (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

Lawrence of Arabia (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

The Godfather

100
Universal Acclaim

Fanny and Alexander (re-release)

100
Universal Acclaim

Citizen Kane

100
Universal Acclaim

City Lights

99
Universal Acclaim

Touch of Evil

99
Universal Acclaim

The Rules of the Game

99
Universal Acclaim

Moonlight

99
Universal Acclaim

Army of Shadows

99
Universal Acclaim

Intolerance

99
Universal Acclaim

Related News

Director Roxanne Benjamin Gender-Flips Gaslighting and Parental Tropes in Horror Film 'There's Something Wrong With the Children'

Director Roxanne Benjamin Gender-Flips Gaslighting and Parental Tropes in Horror Film 'There's Something Wrong With the Children'

Danielle Turchiano

'To me, [the film] was more about the idea of family and what it's supposed to look like,' the director tells Metacritic. 'You might have to fight against that continually until you die.'

  • movies
2023 Critics Choice Awards Winners: From 'Better Call Saul' to 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

2023 Critics Choice Awards Winners: From 'Better Call Saul' to 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Danielle Turchiano

Find out who took home trophies at the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards.

  • movies
With 'The Drop,' Director Sarah Adina Smith Has Made Her Most Personal Movie Yet — And in a Genre She Never Expected to Work In

With 'The Drop,' Director Sarah Adina Smith Has Made Her Most Personal Movie Yet — And in a Genre She Never Expected to Work In

Sam Rosenberg

The comedy was born out of a conversation between Smith and her DP husband Shaheen Seth about the female equivalent of the protagonist's bad action in 'Force Majeure.'

  • movies
2023 DGA Awards Theatrical Nominations: From Steven Spielberg to John Patton Ford

2023 DGA Awards Theatrical Nominations: From Steven Spielberg to John Patton Ford

Danielle Turchiano

Find out who was nominated for theatrical film DGA Awards in 2023.

  • movies
2023 SAG Awards Nominations: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Ozark' Score Big, 'The White Lotus' Switches Categories

2023 SAG Awards Nominations: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Ozark' Score Big, 'The White Lotus' Switches Categories

Danielle Turchiano

Find out which actors from film and television earned Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations at the 29th annual celebration.

  • movies