Revealing mistake: When Dormer fails to pursue Finch during the log chase scene, he climbs out of the water by a ladder. If you look at Dormer's back as he gets out of the water onto the dock you can see an outline of the life jacket Pacino wore to film the scene. You can see the outline again when he turns around and walks up the walkway. (01:00:49 - 01:01:11)
Insomnia (2002)
1 revealing mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Robin Williams, Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan, Oliver 'Ole' Zemen
Continuity mistake: When Dormer and Finch meet up after the interrogation, Dormer slams Fince against a metal support beam and the position of his hands of Finch change from being pressed against Finch's left cheek to being pressed against his neck/shoulder area as the camera angle changes. Happens about 3 times during scene.
Will Dormer: You shouldn't knock misdemeanors.
Ellie Burr: Oh, but it's small stuff. It gets so boring.
Will Dormer: It's all about small stuff. You know, small lies, small mistakes. People give themselves away, same in misdemeanors as they do on murder cases. It's just human nature. Aren't you gonna write that down?
Trivia: Al Pacino's character is named Will Dormer; Dorm is the latin root for 'sleep'.
More questions & answers from Insomnia
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Chosen answer: It represents Al Pacino's character planting evidence on men he knew were guilty. He was planting the victim's blood on their clothes so the evidence would be stronger against them.
In addition, there is a repeated scene where someone (Dormer) is wiping something on or off a fabric.