Reflection_1.0: Outside-Of-Class Reflection

I have recently realized the true genius of the director Christopher Nolan. I have realized such because I have been recently seeking a director whose movies were purely signature and genius and I have finally ended that quest. In each of his movies, the complex, intertwining storyline captivates me along with brilliant actors and memorable scenes and quotes. I could write about each one of his films right now, but I shall instead choose to focus on one film in particular: Insomnia.

"A tough cop. A brilliant killer. An unspeakable crime."

WARNING: 

You are entering a zone where they may be some spoilers. Enter at your own spoiler risk!

Anyways...
Insomnia is a crime movie in which a detective played by the great Al Pacino is solving the murder case of a young 17 year old girl. Its setting was wisely chosen to be a small town in Alaska where the sun doesn't set for several months straight, causing "white nights". For me, the real story doesn't really begin until Al Pacino and the cops have the killer come to an isolated cabin in an area in the woods. They accidentally turn on their megaphone, which alerts the killer and prompts him to start running away. The cops chase after him in a very dense fog, making it hard to see who really is the killer. Al Pacino thinks he has the killer and shoots him. Unfortunately, he accidentally shot his colleague, who he recently had a fight with regarding the result of a trial case, and his colleague has enough reason to believe he did this on purpose. This leaves Al Pacino with only one option should he choose to keep his reputation clean: Lie and say that it was the killer's gun who shot him.

The real storyline begins here as Al Pacino is filled with guilt inside and he desperately tries to cover up any possible evidence that could link this accidental killing to him. This demonstrates that his possible consequences only multiply with time as he creates more and more lies just to cover up his mistake. If the truth and his actions were discovered, it would look like predetermined murder to the court and his reputation would be shattered into a million pieces. In order to avoid this situation, he is willing to do anything it takes to keep his reputation.

'Anything' means making a deal with the killer (Played by one amazing Robin Williams) himself. Eventually, Al Pacino picks up a good clue as to who the killer could be and goes to the killer's house alone. This leads to a chase scene, and he fails at catching him. However, the killer allows him to meet him in person on a ferry. Al Pacino does and the killer tells him that they both killed somebody and didn't mean to do it. The killer tells Al Pacino that he can help him cover up his murder if Al Pacino will help him cover up his own murder. This suggests a deal with the devil, who traditionally offers a deal that seems to satisfy our wants, but with a catch. In this situation, Al Pacino's looming guilt is the catch. The archetypal meeting with the devil only brings Al Pacino more suffering as he is forced to have to put the (mostly) innocent boyfriend of the murdered girl in jail.

This act consumes Al Pacino's conscience and his guilt increases so much that he needs to fix his situation. He goes to the killer's house to rescue a clueless police officer who accidentally steps into the killer's trap. After an intense fight scene, Al Pacino finally catches the killer and shoots him. However, the killer had a "wild card" and shoots Al Pacino as well. The killer is finally dead but at a price. His actions have been redeemed and his career has finally been laid to rest. However, he had to also pay for his actions, as his death suggests. Another interpretation could be that once someone makes a deal with a metaphorical devil, their life will eventually be claimed by the devil. Most often, these deals with the devil end with the death of something, be it the person themselves or someone they love. 

I think the movie's title was pretty fitting for the movie and its theme. Throughout the movie, Al Pacino is kept awake by the permanent daylight and his guilt-ridden consciousness. His insomnia emphasizes his dark path and his bad choices. It runs parallel to the storyline and Pacino's lies multiply as his insomnia worsens. The pinnacle of his insomnia is when the killer tells him that his record was 5 nights of insomnia and that Pacino has beat it by one night. This suggests that Al Pacino's madness is becoming more apparent and out of control as he is turning into something very similar to the killer. This is why I think that the title was so cleverly chosen and why I think the movie's setting contributed so greatly to its meaning.

This was hopefully a good start on my blogging for Mr. Lindsey's english class assignment. Most likely, not all of my blogs will be this lengthy. I made an impressively long blog entry to compensate for my procrastination and I hope that I will not be as procrastinating in the future. Thank you for reading!