Sound- Insomnia

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer(s): Nikolaj Frobebenius
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller.
Release Date: 30th August 2002.

In contrast to Taxi Driver the sound here is used to establish the genre.Before we see anyhting the music seems to creep up on us. The violins set a very sombre, depressing atmosphere that reminded me of death or funerals. The blurred out diagetic sounds that we hear is Nolan's attempt at pulling the audience in to the scene. It sounds as if we are just on the edge of sleep (as the character is). this goes with the title "Insomnia" The sudden jolt in music then "wakes" us up as it goes with the movement of the plane. The music and atmosphere are also reflected by the landscape which is very typical of Hitchcock, like in North by Northwest. it is very baron, plain and uninviting, which could be a hint at what is going to happen later on in the film.
The music that is playing becomes the films "theme". It does not actualy stop throughout the whole opening, just gets quieter. This is showing that the Detective is carrying parts of his city ife into this small town. this is very similar to Scorcese's technique in Taxi Driver.