Christopher Nolan’s third film, and following the critical success of “Memento,” was “Insomnia.” People tend to forget what a tense white-knuckler of a film “Insomnia” was.
“Insomnia” would later be overshadowed by Nolan’s big jump into epic blockbusters and, since then, he hasn’t really looked back on his earlier work. I’d love for him to one day make a film as quietly somber and small as this one, but what are the odds of that happening?
When interviewed for Tom Shone’s essential book, “The Nolan Variations,” Nolan admits to being very keen about “Insomnia,” for numerous reasons, including personal ones:
I’m very proud of the film. I think, of all my films, it’s probably the most underrated. [...] The reality is it’s one of my most personal films in terms of what it was to make it. It was a very vivid time in my life. It was my first studio film, I was on location, it was the first time I’d worked with huge movie stars. [...] That’s not really for me to say, but every now and again I meet a filmmaker and that’s actually the film that they’re interested in or want to talk about. Yeah, very proud of the film.”
It’s definitely the least talked about in Nolan’s filmography, unless you count the micro-budgeted “Following.” “Insomnia” was actually a remake of a 1997 Norwegian film starring Stellan Skarsgård. Nolan kept most of the hooks and beats from that great film, but shot it in dreamier and more atmospheric fashion.
Starring a memorable Al Pacino, in one of his very best performances, and the late great Robin Williams as the villain, not to mention a captivating Hilary Swank, “Insomnia” was a fever dream of a film that followed Detective Will Dormer (Pacino), who gets flown to Alaska, along with partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), to assist in an investigation surrounding the murder of a 17-year-old girl.
Undeniable, however, is the sheer acting power of the whole thing, with a major highlight being the interrogation scene between Pacino and Williams. Williams is marvelously passive and almost whispery as he riles Pacino’s Detective to the point of utter rage.
For Nolan, not only is Insomnia not appreciated at its fair value, but in addition, " of all the films I've made, it's the one that fits most directly and most naturally into the genre of cinema that I'm trying to make. It's true, it doesn't really challenge the genre, and that's what people expect from me now, or from the other films that I've made. But I think Insomnia holds up very well.”
“Insomnia” is probably Nolan’s most “grounded” film, and one that now feels damn-near prehistoric in the director’s oeuvre of films. Will he ever make films like this again? Only when/if his stock in Hollywood starts to go down, and he’s forced to go back to making mid-budget movies again.