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Insomnia (2002)
Insomnia is a 2002 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay by Hillary Seitz. It is a remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. The film stars Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank, with Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt, and Paul Dooley in supporting roles. It follows two Los Angeles homicide detectives investigating a murder in…
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Shot by Wally Pfister · Cut by Dody Dorn · Music by David Julyan · 118 min
How it was made
- Christopher Nolan sought to remake the original Norwegian Insomnia after watching it twice, having become aware of it even before the release of his own directorial debut, Following.
- Robin Williams was deliberately cast against type as the villain; Nolan said that after watching the edited film hundreds of times during the cut, he never once caught a moment where the performance's craft became visible.
- Filming ran three months, from April to June 2001, across multiple British Columbia and Alaska locations standing in for the fictional town of Nightmute: Squamish doubled for the town itself, Port Alberni on Vancouver Island for the village of Umkumuit, and Clementine Creek in Indian Arm for the beach shooting scene.
- For the final lake house scene, the crew built Finch's cabin and dock from scratch at Strohn Lake in Bear Glacier Provincial Park, then dismantled and removed the structure once filming wrapped in June 2001.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Christopher Nolan
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