I got the film Insomnia out of the library. I found the film really interesting as it was not as I expected it to be. The basic plot was about an american cop (Al Pachino) who was sent to Alaska because of a homicide that needed investigating along with one of his police colleagues. I found it weird that the film was set in Alaska and that it was a thriller because Alaska never gets dark which is quite an obvious factor in most thriller/horror films. Anyway as the film goes on you learn more about the characters and at one point in the film Al pachino accidently shoots and kills his cop friend. He then blames the murder on the person that committed the homicide that he went there to investigate in the first place as they were chasing him at the time he accidently shot him. The film then goes on to see Al Pachino getting phone calls late a night (in broad daylight) from the original murderer and threatening to tell the police that Al Pachino was the person who shot his cop friend because he actually witnessed it without Al Pachino realizing. Eventually Al Pachino and Robin Williams (the murderer) team up and try and frame the boyfriend of the girl who died as he used to beat her and Robin Williams was convinced that one day he would do more. Al Pahino not wanting to lose his badge and his place on the police squad agreed to go along with it trying to frame this man. What he didn't know was that one of the police woman on the alaska team figured out from the statement Al Pahino gave about the killing of his friend that he must be lying and soon finds out the truth. I found the film very interesting as it was quite a deep meaningful film and if you didn't watch carefully you would miss vital aspects. Another thing that surprised me was the fact that Al Pachino died at the end. He was shot by Robin Williams. It's quite funny really when a main character does something bad because although they have done the bad thing you still follow them and want them to succeed, I think films are very clever like that. Al Pachino is also a very successful actor so the fact that he agreed to be the bad guy and to also die at the end was quite a shock. I would defiantly recommend the film to anyone who likes films that are quite gripping and mind teasing. I would say that I would probably have to watch it again to truly understand what was going on from the start. One main aspect I liked about it being filmed in Alaska was that instead of darkness they used mist. I never realised how convincing and creepy mist can be during a tense part in any film. The fact that the actors can't see anything is very scary and dwelling. Overall though I really enjoyed it and am glad I picked that film to watch because it's interesting to see how different films portray certain thriller situations by locations.

Lois Edwards