One of Christopher Nolan’s most personal works is also one of the most underrated films of his career: a return to the case “Insomnia”, a feverish crime thriller unjustly overlooked.
Christopher Nolan is unquestionably one of the most talented, ambitious, ingenious filmmakers of all time. Memento, Le Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception and Interstellar, to name a few, are among his critically and publicly acclaimed titles that have made him famous. And Oppenheimer, scheduled for this summer, also seems to be on the road to success.
But, as Espinof reports, there is one of his films, underestimated, which nevertheless makes the director all the pride: his third feature film, released in 2002 after the critical success of Mementoand his first production for a major Hollywood studio… We named Insomnia.
Remake of a Norwegian feature film from 1997 with Stellan Skarsgård, the film nevertheless received good reviews, press and public. Christopher Nolan thinks, however, that the fact that it’s a remake may have something to do with why it’s underrated, as he commented in Tom Shone’s book, The Nolan Variations.
I am very proud of the film. I think of all my films, this is probably the most underrated. People often say, ‘It’s not as interesting or personal as Memento’, but there’s a reason for that. It’s a screenplay someone else wrote and a remake of another movie. The reality is that it’s one of my most personal films for the experience it was to make. It was a very significant period of my life. It was my first film in the studio, shot on location, it was the first time I worked with big movie stars. Making it was an experience that marked me and it all comes back to me every time I see it. Of all the movies I’ve done, this is the one that fits the genre I was trying to do, it doesn’t try to question it, and that’s what people ended up expecting from others movies I’ve done. But I think it holds up well.
Featuring a memorable Al Pacino in one of his best performances and the late, great Robin Williams in a villainous role, the film is backed by the ever-captivating Hilary Swank. insomnia follows detective Will Dormer (Pacino) who flies to Alaska with his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) to investigate the murder of a 17-year-old girl.
Warner Bros. Pictures / Summit Entertainment
Christopher Nolan also revealed that it’s a movie we like to talk to him about: “It’s not really for me to say, but once in a while I meet a filmmaker and it’s actually the film that interests him or that he wants to talk about. Yes, I am very proud of the film.“That is what is said.
insomnia is also the project that marked the beginning of the professional relationship of Christopher Nolan with Warner that spanned two decades. Shortly after, the studio entrusted him with the production of Batman Begins. The rest you know.
His next film, the long-awaited and already very impressive Oppenheimer, will be released in our theaters on July 19, 2023.