Insomnia: Al Pacino’s Leather Jacket in the Alaskan Midnight Sun

Al Pacino as Will Dormer in Insomnia (2002) Vitals Al Pacino as Will Dormer, shrewd but increasingly sleepy LAPD detective Northern Alaska, June 2002 Film: Insomnia Release Date: May 22, 2002 Director: Christopher Nolan Costume Designer: Tish Monaghan WARNING! Spoilers ahead! Background By this time in mid-May, towns like Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) in the northern tip of Alaska are experiencing the midnight sun, typically lasting 83 days from May 10th or 11th through the beginning of August. The mid-June setting of Insomnia—to date, the only film Christopher Nolan directed without an official writing credit—is set during this phenomenon, to the initial puzzlement of legendary LAPD homicide detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino), visiting on request to help solve the murder of young high school student. Facing Internal Affairs scrutiny back in Los Angeles, Dormer and his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) travel to the “halibut capital of the world”: the fictional town of Nightmute in a…