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For years, Christopher Nolan has been one of the most talked about, praised and hotly debated directors in Hollywood. He is the filmmaker with the most films in the IMDb top 250, he has traveled the industry tackling an impressive mix of original projects and intellectual property, arguably one of his greatest films has single-handedly changed the Oscars forever, and each of his new films feels like a fitting event. (You’ve probably seen the hype surrounding his recently announced adaptation of “The Odyssey” coming out next year.) His filmography has been scrutinized and debated over where moviegoers congregate, and where members of its passionate, almost cult-like fan base are ready to do just that. going to bat for one of his characteristics.
While I don’t know if Nolan himself has spoken out about his best film, the director has gone on record as saying what he thinks is best. underrated what is cinema, which gives a fascinating insight into how he perceives his own work.
In Tom Shone’s 2020 book “The Nolan Variations: The Films, Mysteries and Wonders of Christopher Nolan”, Shone was able to spend significant time with the director over many years to talk in-depth about each of his films, and Nolan identified one of his early features as a project that might be the most unfairly rejected film of all his career. body of work.
Christopher Nolan says Insomnia is his most underrated film
“I think that of all my films, [“Insomnia” is] probably the most underrated,” says Nolan in “The Nolan Variations.” He also gives a potential reason why audiences may not engage with it on the same level as his other films, and a reason why, for him, that might not be the case. be further from the truth:
“People will say things like, ‘Oh, it’s not as interesting or personalized as Memento,’ but there’s a reason for that. It’s based on a script that someone else wrote It’s a remake of another film. The reality is that it’s one of my most personal films in terms of what it was like to make it. […] Of all the films I’ve made, this is the one that fits most directly or comfortably into the genre I was trying to make it in. It doesn’t really challenge the genre, and that’s what people expect from other films I’ve made. I did. But I think the film holds up very well. It’s not really my place to say, but every now and then I meet a filmmaker and It is in fact, the film that interests them or what to talk about. Yes, I’m very proud of the film.”
Three years before Nolan deemed “Insomnia” the most underrated of his films, we at /Film came to the same conclusion and wrote about our own reasons why we think that’s the case. I encourage you to watch this play, and if you haven’t rewatched “Insomnia” in a while, give it another look. The film may not shake up the crime thriller genre, but it features absolutely top-notch work from Academy Award winners Al Pacino and Robin Williams in a cat-and-mouse game that takes place in an atmospheric setting. If nothing else, it will make you appreciate the power of a good night’s sleep.
