Christopher Nolan thinks his most underrated movie is 2002's Insomnia, which doesn't get half the attention it deserves. Following his micro-budget directorial debut, Following, and his mind-bending breakthrough thriller, Memento, Nolan's third movie was the much bigger Insomnia, a cat-and-mouse chase thriller starring Robin Williams and Al Pacino. The movie was on a much bigger scale than Nolan was used to at the time, as it had a budget of $46 million and had two high-profile stars. However, despite that, Insomnia was only a modest hit, making $113 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), which is an underperformance relative to its budget.
Insomnia has become mostly forgotten and is rarely in the common debate over what Nolan's best movie is. Nevertheless, Nolan thinks the movie is great and believes it's criminally underrated. In Tom Shone's book, The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan, the celebrated director explains, "I’m very proud of the film. I think, of all my films, it’s probably the most underrated." While Insomnia might not be one of his very best movies, it's certainly one of his most overlooked films, if not the most overlooked.
Christopher Nolan Thinks Insomnia Is Totally Underrated - And He's Right
Insomnia might be the only Nolan movie that didn't have any involvement from the filmmaker when it comes to the story and screenplay, as it's a remake of a Norwegian movie with a screenplay from Hillary Seitz, but it still has Nolan's fingerprints all over it. The film had all of Nolan's typical cliches, such as playing with time, questioning reality, and whether or not Will Dormer (Pacino) was a reliable narrator given that his insomnia had the detective questioning himself. Unfortunately, being sandwiched between two other seminal movies in Nolan's filmography, Memento and Batman Begins, led the 2002 movie to live in their shadows.
Insomnia is more overlooked than underrated given that those who have seen it like it, but not many people have seen Insomnia compared to the millions that have seen Nolan's other films. In fact, Insomnia has the third-highest Rotten Tomatoes score for a Nolan movie, as it sits at a huge 92%, just behind Memento and The Dark Knight. The 2002 movie also has a 7.2 on IMDb, which is an acceptable score. However, it's definitely underrated compared to Nolan's other movie ratings on IMDb, as The Dark Knight Rises, which is one of the most polarizing superhero movies of the 2010s, still has an 8.4.
Insomnia Features Two Of The Best Performances In Christopher Nolan’s Movies
In The Nolan Variations, Nolan adds, "The reality is it’s one of my most personal films in of what it was to make it... it was the first time I’d worked with huge movie stars." While Nolan might have a great connection to Insomnia because of his experience shooting it and working with Pacino and Williams, the director managed to get two of the actors' best on-screen performances out of them. One of the filmmaker's many strengths is being an actor's director, as he directed Heath Ledger to an Academy Award win with his now iconic role as the Joker, and Williams and Pacino's performances are further proof of that.
As Pacino and Williams had already been considered Hollywood royalty years before Insomnia, their salaries were likely the bulk of the budget, but it totally paid off. Insomnia follows Dormer as he's hired to chase down and capture killer Walter Finch (Williams), but the characters are way more layered than in any standard detective movie. As a result, the actors deliver powerful, Oscar-worthy performances. As both actors are known for their unrivaled improvisational skills, there was undoubtedly a lot of ad-libbing too. While Ledger's performance as the Joker is undoubtedly the crown jewel of all performances in Nolan's movies, Williams and Pacino's performances are a close second and third.
Insomnia Would Be More Appreciated If It Were A Modern Nolan Movie
Insomnia is a great and original thriller, the kind that doesn't get made today, and not even Nolan makes that kind of movie anymore. Nolan no longer makes small movies, and he especially doesn't make R-rated movies or films that are exclusively thrillers. However, if Nolan did make Insomnia today, it would be way more appreciated. Nolan has a guaranteed audience, and between the fanbase and the nine-figure budget that a modern Nolan movie typically has, a 2020s Insomnia would be a huge success if it was made today. Unfortunately, the 2002 movie is doomed to remain Christopher Nolan's most "underrated" movie, especially as Nolan is consistently releasing bigger and bigger films.
Source: Box Office Mojo
