Plot hole: Days after Hap's killing Ellie finds a shell casing from a Walther handgun. I find it hard to believe that the police wouldn't comb the scene of a cop's murder enough to find a bright shell lying on black rocks.
Insomnia (2002)
1 plot hole
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Robin Williams, Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan, Oliver 'Ole' Zemen
Continuity mistake: When Robin Williams is being questioned by the police for the first time, one of the cops is talking to him. Very soon afterward the cop leaves the room and is walking away. We see the cop in the distance in another room, yet we hear the cop talking to Robin Williams again as Al Pacino shuts the door. Almost immediately, the camera angle changes to the cop as he finishes talking. He is standing in front of Robin Williams again.
Ellie Burr: A good cop can't sleep because he's missing a piece of the puzzle. And a bad cop can't sleep because his conscience won't let him.
Trivia: Not a mistake, just something nice to notice: "Dormer" sounds like "dormeur" that is to say the French for "sleeper".
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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.