The first movie thatChristopher Nolanmade for a big Hollywood studio is still the most underrated film of his career — and even the director himself agrees. Ever since his groundbreaking Batman reboot made him a household name, Nolan has practically been a franchise unto himself. Along with Quentin Tarantino, he’s one of the only filmmakers whose name alone can attract huge crowds to movie theaters. No one else could make a blockbuster out of a three-hour biopic of a physicist, butOppenheimerbecame Nolan’s highest-grossing non-Batman movie(and third highest-grossing film overall).
Nolan is one of the only directors left who can command a nine-figure budget for an experimental original story. He earned enough trust with Warner Bros. to get them to commit as much money to movies likeInception,Interstellar, andTenetas they would a reliable comic book movie. Nolan’s next film, a star-studded adaptation ofThe Odyssey, will reportedly cost a whopping $250 million. Butlong before Nolan was trusted with the Batman franchise, he proved he could make a great mid-budget noir with his first studio production.
Insomnia Was Christopher Nolan’s First Studio Movie
After Following & Memento, Nolan Finally Teamed Up With A Big Studio
Nolan’s first feature was a no-budget amateur indie production.Followingwas shot sparingly on 16mm film stock, using available light and unknown actors. That movie was met with a warm enough reception for Nolan to command a slightly bigger budget for his next movie, psychological thrillerMemento.Mementohas better production value, bigger stars, and more ambitious visuals thanFollowing, but it was still a relatively small indie shoot financed by a privately owned production company.
Insomniagrossed $113.8 million on a $46 million budget.
Mementoproved to be a big hit on the festival circuit and earned a cult following. This success allowed Nolan to finally break into studio filmmaking. In 2002,he teamed up with Warner Bros. to helm an English-language remake of the 1997 Norwegian thrillerInsomnia. Set in chilly Alaska,Insomniais a tense cat-and-mouse caper starring Al Pacino as a grizzled detective and Robin Williams cast against type as a sadistic killer. It remains Nolan’s most underappreciated movie, and Nolan himself agrees.
Why Nolan Thinks Insomnia Is His Most Underrated Film
“The Reality Is It’s One Of My Most Personal Films”
While there’s plenty of love forDunkirkandThe Dark Knight,Insomniaremains criminally underrated. In the bookThe Nolan Variationsby author Tom Shone,Nolan himself said thatInsomniais his most underrated film: “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.” WhileChristopher Nolandoesn’t get a screenplay credit onInsomnia, he did contribute to the script — he wasn’t just a director-for-hire — so it has his indelible mark all over it.
Insomnia
Cast
Insomnia, directed by Christopher Nolan, follows two Los Angeles homicide detectives sent to a northern town where the sun never sets to investigate the meticulous murder of a local teenager. The incessant daylight plays a critical role in the unraveling of the case and the psychological dynamics between the characters.
