Insomnia

Based on the 1997 Norwegian blockbuster of the same name, this skilfully directed psychodrama from Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) proves that hit European movies can be remade successfully. Alaska provides a visually arresting backdrop for an unhinged noir nightmare that sees hard-boiled LAPD detective Al Pacino sent to a small fishing town to investigate the brutal murder of a teenager. When he mistakenly kills his partner on a fudged stakeout and blames the hunted assassin (Robin Williams) who saw what he did, the killer blackmails him into pinning both deaths on someone else. And so a convoluted cat-and-mouse game begins with Pacino - terminally sleepless from the endless daylight - barely staying one-step ahead in the evidence-planting conspiracy while trying to conceal his own crime. Dwelling on the far more compelling issues of ethical decay and moral breakdown than the whodunnit aspects, Nolan's inventive thriller is intensely gripping throughout and sees Pacino on dynamite form.