After the success of _Memento_, Nolan got scooped up by a major studio and made a more conventional film as his next project. It starts out like a typical police procedural, however at the end of the first act it quickly turns into a more unique premise. It feels like a David Fincher film, and I think this could’ve been great if he had directed it. With Nolan at the helm the results are slightly less exciting, because the script doesn’t entirely play to his strengths. It’s not that the movie ever looks bad, it’s lit and shot like a real film and the location (which gives it a Scandinavian thriller feel) helps out a lot. However, this is the type of script that demands more style and atmosphere, the filmmaking here is simply too plain. I know that Nolan typically doesn’t engage in David Lynch-esque surrealism, but when you have a protagonist suffering from insomnia, you’re allowed to go crazier than what this ends up doing. It’s weird because _Memento_ was directed with such a strong vision, this almost feels like a step back. Maybe he decided to water it down just a little bit due to it being made for a big studio. Nevertheless, this is still a fantastic screenplay (could’ve done without the ‘I secretly recorded our conversation’ trope) with some outstanding acting from Pacino and Williams. It’s tense, engaging, smart; again, it does exactly what it needs to do, but it doesn’t entirely reach its full potential.

7/10