Christopher Nolan is one director who was born to do legendary things, and that’s exactly what he continues to do. With so many back-to-back hits, there comes a time when fans struggle to rate the best. While film historians believe Insomnia remains his best creation, superhero fans may go for Dark Knight, and some like yours truly may yell Inception from the backbench.
No matter what everyone thinks, the American-British filmmaker is convinced that his $113 million thriller might be underrated, but it still remains one of his best works despite the massive success of Christian Bale’s Dark Knight Trilogy. Insomnia makes one believe that Nolan is a man with ambitious efforts when it comes to handling studio movies.
Insomnia Was Nolan’s First Studio Movie!
Christopher Nolan may have created several masterpieces over the years, grossing over $5 billion worldwide, but Insomnia, a remake of Erik Skjoldbjærg’s 1997 Norwegian film, remains one of his best works to date. The psychological thriller was released in 2002 and received critical praise for Al Pacino’s and Robin Williams’ performances.
The Interstellar filmmaker himself accepted this fact as mentioned in Tom Shone’s book, The Nolan Variations. At one point, Nolan expressed his pride in Insomnia and mentioned that it’s one of the most personal films in terms of what he was going to make. It’s written in the book:
“Christopher Nolan thinks Insomnia is 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 in terms of what it was like to make it. It was a very vivid time in my life.
It was my first studio film, I was on location, and 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.”
Revolving around a small-town murder genre, Insomnia is Nolan’s first studio movie, which depicts the story of a murder investigation in a small Alaskan town. The movie is a perfect example of the fact that Nolan truly has the ability to keep the impact of the film despite its quieter and more intimate story. This couldn’t have worked for the Dark Knight trilogy ever!
Insomnia Over The Dark Knight Trilogy: The Reasons Are Fair
DC fans might agree to disagree, but if one keeps a broader perspective, one has to give it to Christopher Nolan to play around with his ambitious effort. If the 52-year-old filmmaker feels that Insomnia remains one of his most personal and powerful works, the reasons are powerful too.
The Dark Knight trilogy, starring Christian Bale, on the other hand, grossed over $1.006 billion, breaking a lot of records and not just at the box office. The movie is considered one of the best superhero movies ever. But in Insomnia, Nolan established himself as a journeyman director, who deserves due credit for crafting an ambitious studio film.
Well, Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly the man who “legitimized” superhero movies, thus paving the way for franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe. But again, when it comes to Insomnia, it’s more of a personal affair! It may be the “most forgotten movie” for some, but Nolan remembers every bit of it.
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