Al Pacino chases Robin Williams Insomnia
Insomnia (2002) is perhaps one of the least mentioned films when it comes to highlighting the filmography of Christopher Nolan. However, with this feature the director delivered a fascinating thriller and offered to Robin Williams probably his most surprising role. When we think of the actor, we mostly think of his comedies and his warm smile. What a surprise to see him here like a cold killer.
As a reminder, Insomnia is set in Alaska, where Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his teammate Hap (Martin Donovan) must investigate the sordid murder of a teenage girl. There Will quickly becomes disoriented because the sun doesn’t set this time of year. Plagued by insomnia (also linked to a crime revealed later), commits the irreparable during a chase with the murderer by shooting the wrong person. Then he will fall into lies to try to cover himself. But he will have to face the threats of the killer, the only witness to his act, and the suspicions of Ellie Burr, a local police officer solidly played by Hilary Swank.
Although the film focuses on Will, carried forward by an excellent Al Pacino as always, Robin Williams’ presence remains memorable. When the two men finally find themselves face to face, the surprise is great for the spectator who discovers the actor in complete calm, disturbing and impassive, which follows a precise logic. It is precisely this contrast between the character and his interpreter that Christopher Nolan and his producer Andrew A. Kosove liked.
Two different methods
Also, for Al Pacino and Robin Williams, it was the meeting of two opposites. Everyone has a very different working method. The former was, according to Christopher Nolan, more withdrawn on set to concentrate and get into his role, while the latter had more of a tendency to make the team laugh. Two opposites that work perfectly Insomnia thanks to the talent of these actors, explained the director (via Assigned):
What strikes me about these two great actors is their ability to pass responsibility, to interact in such a constructive way based on radically different working methods.
On the set ofInsomnia, the respect between Al Pacino and Robin Williams was evident. Both complimented each other, both in an interview and in a DVD bonus, during a discussion between Christopher Nolan and Al Pacino.
Steven Soderbergh’s intervention was decisive
The result of this chilling thriller, marked by the intense light of Alaska (in contrast for example to the dark and sticky Seven) allowed the filmmaker to definitively carve out a place for himself in Hollywood. This is also thanks to the intervention of Steven Soderberghbig fan of Christopher Nolan’s previous film, I remember (2000). It was he who convinced some experts from Warner Bros. so that they agreed to meet the British director. In fact, one of the studio heads had hated it I remember and I didn’t want to hear about Christopher Nolan. But Soderbergh insisted on the quality of the staging.
Just organize a meeting and the studio decides to entrust him with the production remake from the Norwegian film by Erik Skjoldbjærg released in 1997 and directed by Stellan Skarsgård. With InsomniaChristopher Nolan has surpassed for the first time the $100 million in global box office receipts and began a long association with Warner Bros., including eight films, before joining Universal for Oppenheimer (2023).
Source: Cine Serie
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