Why Insomnia Is The Least Respected Nolan Film

This 2002 remake of a Norwegian film follows a Los Angeles homicide detective dispatched to Alaska to investigate the murder of a local teen.
Posts: 963
Joined: June 2009
Personally, I feel that Nolan has been fortunate enough to have been able to make the movie he wanted to make, so I feel that even if Nolan did write it, he probably would have arrived at a fairly similar movie though perhaps not a carbon copy. For me, Insomnia is the definitive Nolan version of the material. And hey... I'm not complaining. I actually love it.

Posts: 2512
Joined: November 2009
This is Nolans first real hollywood movie,and i think it is not his most artistic movie,but to be honest more in the direction of mainstream,Nolan begon to make his first artstic hollywood film with making 'The Prestige' and after that came ofcourse 'TDK'
and 'TDK' has at somepoints really artstic elements.and i just know after seeing the trailers from 'Inception' that it's going to be he's next artstic hollywood film and maybe his best so far.

Posts: 3861
Joined: August 2009
I actually felt that this film was very artistic. He didn't just set up a camera and let it go he captured mood and emotion in the camera work. And somehow created a very dark movie in an extraordinarily bright environment. This is the true predecessor to the Dark Knight as far as style is concerned.

In Memento, we feel the plight of the main character, and are put into his shoes. We understand his disability and can relate to him much better. I feel he did the same thing in this film. He made us feel the effects of Insomnia and made us question the same things the main character questions. It really is a fantastic film.

User avatar
Posts: 2409
Joined: March 2010
Location: Texas
theweatherman wrote:I actually felt that this film was very artistic. He didn't just set up a camera and let it go he captured mood and emotion in the camera work. And somehow created a very dark movie in an extraordinarily bright environment. This is the true predecessor to the Dark Knight as far as style is concerned.

That is an excellent point about the clash of a dark tone and bright atmosphere in both films. :thumbup:

Posts: 255
Joined: May 2010
Because it's the film that followed Memento. That's basically the reason. You had to look at in from a retropsective view point. I indeed had to, because I was always curious as to why that film was one of the most critically acclaimed. It is a brilliant film in its own right, but it's Nolan atypical films he ever had to direct. There's no unexpected twists, there's no unique ways of story-telling. Just straight up incredible acting and raw storytelling with the use of Alaska as a metaphor for the consequences of insomnia.

User avatar
Posts: 3197
Joined: April 2010
Location: We can't stop here, this is Bat Country!
I admire the way Nolan succeeded on making the vibe of this film work, I can assure you, most of the directors out there would have fuck it up, is very complicated to make a story like this work in visual terms.

User avatar
Posts: 4938
Joined: December 2009
Location: London
TeddyBlass wrote:Do let us know what you think of it when you're done watching. I personally am baffled at the lack of respect this film gets. One of my favorite Nolan films.
I've got to say, I agree with you. Insomnia is so under rated, personally I think it's almost as good as Batman Begins or The Prestige, though it wasn't quite as well written as The Prestige and didn't have quite the excitement factor of Batman Begins.

Posts: 74
Joined: June 2010
I think the problem is twofold: It's a fairly straightforward genre film so the perception is that Nolan's stamp isn't on it (though it is); also, it's easy to hate on the cast, even though the leads are anywhere from pretty good (Williams) to excellent (Pacino and Swank). It's not a new performance from Pacino -- we've seen variations of this character quite a few times -- but he's terrific. Swank, to me, is the best of the three, because she has to sell the transformation her character makes, and she nails it. I'm very, very big on this film, and though it's not as rich or dense as Memento, it's an unqualified success.

Posts: 3861
Joined: August 2009
I think it was a good test to show that Nolan could work with someone else's material and still create a project unique to his style.

Posts: 74
Joined: June 2010
Maybe another reason it's too quickly dismissed is because it's a remake of a fairly recent, very well-liked foreign film. Usually the "Americanization" of foreign films is anathama.

Post Reply