This week, you can see on television a superb, critically acclaimed film by Christopher Nolan, which is nevertheless often underestimated in the filmmaker’s filmography.
When we talk about Christopher Nolan, the films Inception, Interstellar, The Dark Knight or Oppenheimer And Prestige naturally come to mind. But these are not the only works in his filmography. This week, it’s possible to catch up with one of the British-American director’s most underrated feature films. Insomnia was released in cinemas in 2002. It is Christopher Nolan’s third feature film, released after Following, the follower (1998) and shortly after the slap that was Mementowhich also opened the doors to Hollywood for him.
In this remake of a Norwegian film by Erik Skjoldbjaerg released in 1997, the audience follows a disillusioned Los Angeles police officer, sent to Alaska to investigate the sordid murder of a teenage girl. He quickly finds himself trapped by the killer. His guilt and the phenomenon of the polar day (period during which the sun does not set) prevent him from sleeping and, above all, from having clear ideas. A true all-star cast is assembled in this daylight thriller. Al Pacino (The Godfather) plays the lead role opposite Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) and the late Robin William in one of his rare dramatic roles.
Upon its release, reviews fromInsomnia are overall very positive: the film obtains a score of 78/100 on Metacritic, 92% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and a press rating of 4/5 on Allociné. Among the conquerors, let’s mention Télérama, which gave it its maximum score, when Ecran Large estimated at the time that “Christopher Nolan demonstrates that he can create a brilliant film without necessarily relying on a trickster gimmick”. Opinion which will be proven many times later.
How to explain thatInsomnia is so often forgotten in the works of Christopher Nolan? Firstly because the director subsequently signed resounding blockbusters which tended to eclipse the work of his early years. Then, because as a thriller, Insomnia proves to be much more classic than the filmmaker’s other films, which are often based on strong concepts or complex scenarios. This does not prevent the filmmaker’s third film from being devilishly effective and a must-have in the detective genre. If you want to catch up Insomnia on television, know that the film is broadcast this Sunday 10 March 2024. It is on Arte, from 9 p.m., that it is possible to (re)see this thriller by the director, recently crowned with an honorary César.