Insomnia - A Picture of a Guilty Conscience

This is a good example of a fallen character arc. It illustrates how people  hide depravity and deal with a guilty conscience. The detective who upholds and enforces justice quickly becomes the criminal as he tries to maintain his reputation while hiding skeletons in his closet. He spirals downward assaulting others, perpetuating lies, and aiding criminals. He doesn’t chase the guilty, he becomes guilty. 

The metaphor in the movie is the hotel room. This is where the protagonist cannot sleep. He tries to cover up the light, but there’s always holes in the sheet or cracks where light comes blasting in. This is exactly what people do with a guilty conscience. They try to cover it up but there’s holes and the light always exposes the evil done.  

In Psalm 32 king David writes a song about the trouble of a guilty conscience. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba, then murdered her husband. His body was in agony over holding this in. Finally he confessed to God and owned up to what he had done, and by that he was freed! The conscience condemns but God forgives (1 John 1:9)

Both the Swedish version and the Warner Bros version by Christopher Nolan are great examples of a fallen character study.