Ranking the Christopher Nolan Filmography
(**Warning — this ranking may contain SPOILERS for Oppenheimer**)
11. Insomnia (2002)
It’s important to point out that because these works are the genius of an all time great filmmaker, not one is bad. In fact it gets harder to rank them as we go down the list to number one. But there’s no denying that Insomnia back in 2002 is the weakest. It’s not because of any conceptual elements or casting. It’s my favorite actor Al Pacino in a film directed by my third all time favorite director, what could be wrong? It’s simply that the film feels at times poorly paced, convoluted and narratively forced. Nolan was early on in his career and there’s an air of disinterest that can be felt at times as the story progresses. It’s less so that Nolan was working out some directorial kinks (the man made Memento two years earlier), it’s more so that he did one for the studio here. You can feel it. None the less, the story is just compelling enough to keep you engaged until the end and that’s really all you can ask for. It’s nice to imagine the possibility that Nolan and Pacino get to collaborate again at some point with the auteur in his absolute prime. But I guess only time will tell.
