Since the action unfolds in a small fishing town in Alaska, where the sun never sets, Nolan's 'sunshine' noir eschews shadows for blinding light.
Based on a Norwegian thriller of the same name, Insomnia is firmly within noir territory -- a troubled detective unravelling the murder of a young girl –-- but it purposefully inverts many of the inherited stylistic conventions. Since the action unfolds in a small fishing town in Alaska, where the sun never sets, Nolan's 'sunshine' noir eschews shadows for blinding light.