Insomnia

Insomnia has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in Australia on Stan and Lionsgate+ Amazon Channels, and in the UK on BFI Player Amazon Channel and Lionsgate+ Amazon Channels. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch Al Pacino work — the performance is a masterclass in restraint. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Stan.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Insomnia earns its spot. The plotting gives Insomnia its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen. Credit to Al Pacino and Robin Williams for grounding it — this is a cast that earns the twists. It hit screens in 2002. What makes Insomnia hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

For anyone who wants their crime drama to earn its twists, Insomnia delivers. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Al Pacino carries scenes that would sink a lesser production. The resolution feels inevitable rather than arbitrary, which is rarer than it sounds.