Talent shines even in “Insomnia” as a “director for hire”! The appeal of the genius Nolan's masterpiece thriller

A chaotic “insomniac” world where dreams and reality, fantasy and everyday life intertwine.

What is most typical of Nolan is the use of flashbacks to depict the chaos in the protagonist's mind. In the " The Dark Knight " trilogy, the trauma of Bruce Wayne, the main character, was expressed through flashbacks, but in this film too, the memories of Dormer's evil deeds, including killing his partner and covering it up, are flashbacks. This, coupled with his insomnia, also expresses the state of fierce conflict caused by cloudy memories.

It can be said to be a link in Nolan's work, connecting the visual expressions of `` Memento ,'' in which memories go backwards, to `` Inception ,'' which muddies the layers of dreams and reality.

“Inception” preview

Cinematographer Wally Pfister was a strong ally in bringing Nolan's unwavering vision to life. In this work, which is his follow-up to ``Memento,'' he further develops his visual style. Pfister's achievement in depicting scenery in broad daylight with almost fantastical beauty, a complete change from the dark tones of his previous work, cannot be ignored. Since then, he has served as the cameraman for all of Nolan's films up to `` The Dark Knight Rises, '' and in 2014, he made his debut as a film director with ``Transcendence,'' produced by Nolan.

After the success of this film, Nolan was selected to direct the blockbuster `` Batman Begins '' (2005), but there is no need to explain what happened after that. Although he was a ``director for hire,'' or rather, precisely because he was a ``director for hire,'' Nolan's talent for visual expression stood out in this film. Of course, the reason he was able to demonstrate his talent was because he resonated with this story.

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``An interesting story is one that is chaotic. It always leaves the viewer uneasy,'' is what he said about this film, and this is also true of all of his directorial films since then. Why not take a look at it along with `` Tenet '', which has a motif of going backwards in time?

Text: Manabu Soma

After working as an information magazine editor, became a freelance writer. He writes articles and reviews for magazines such as ``SCREEN,'' ``DVD & Video Distribution,'' and ``Cinema Square,'' as well as theater pamphlets and the movie site ``Cinema Today.'' Currently appearing on Star Channel "GO! Theater". I host club events as a hobby.

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