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Following [1999]
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.....................' everybody has a box '........................
Review date: 2008-04-14 Rating: 8 out of 10
Following is an excellent debut from the talented Great British Director - Christopher Nolan. Highly original, the story is about a would-be writer who decides to follow strangers in order to develop characters for his novel. He randomly follows an articulate and well dressed thief, and is consequently drawn into his revolutionary approach to theft.
As an audience we are instantly introduced into Nolan's sense of style and mannerism. There is something about his films that keep you gripped throughout. Following is not an ambitious film but worth watching if you want to know how the director of Memento and Batman Begins first started out.
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Reviews
Don't follow my advice
Review date: 2008-02-09 Rating: 6 out of 10
Obviously made on a budget.
It did not do it for me and to compare it with Momento in my opinion is pretentious.
So I give it 3 stars, so you will have to watch it to make up your own mind.
DO NOT FOLLOW
Review date: 2008-02-04 Rating: 2 out of 10
Plot - good. Acting - awful. In the 'Biographies' section it states that Jeremy Theobald (the main actor) has been working for a while on small budget films but is looking for his break-through in to a big movie. Forget it Jeremy - it'll never happen. Your acting is appalling! The idea is a good one but I was completely put off by Jez's acting skills (or lack of). One star for the story.
Good Debut
Review date: 2007-12-28 Rating: 8 out of 10
Before the release of the critically acclaimed cult classic Memento, Christopher Nolan made his feature film debut with the London based neo noir Following. Made in a similarly distorted fashion to its better known big brother, Following displays early signs of a talented film maker yet to fully hone his skills. Here we see a director showing a raw grittiness in their debut work that is reminiscent of Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets.
Produced on a shoe string budget of a mere £6000 over the course of a year's worth of weekends, Following runs for a mere 70 minutes. However this short film packs a punch with its daring approach to a hackneyed and clichéd genre. Shot in black and white it bares all the hallmarks of the classic Film Noir formula; the untrustworthy femme fatale, the morally ambiguous hero, the strong arm gang boss and the manipulative villain. Also as with classic Noir's such as Out of the Past, Following refuses to give its hero a happy ending and the satisfaction of the film comes from the way in which the story is told and not in its conclusion. Nolan is largely successful in his manipulation of the narrative of what other wise would be a boring and formulaic film. However this can not be a criticism because it is obvious he intended from the beginning to tell his story in such a way. Piece by Piece we are allowed to fit the puzzle together as the film jumps back and forth in time. Nolan uses the appearance of the protagonist Bill (Jeremy Theobald) to indicate where in the story we are, one moment he is long haired and scruffily dressed the next he has a sharper haircut and a bruised face. Nolan leaves us intrigued to discover who and why has given him such a beating and we are ultimately satisfied as the story unfolds. He displays a great dexterity with his mobile camera work which often has a voyeuristic feel. Of course Voyeurism is a major theme throughout the film. Bill is essentially a stalker who deludes himself into believing he is researching for his book. Cobb works under the pretence of being a burglar but is actually more interested in uncovering the secrets of other people and the theme even continues with the photos Bill is unwittingly tricked into stealing. Despite the fact Following was filmed in London, the capital is unrecognisable and murky. There is no sign of the houses of Parliament and Big Ben, a shot of which most London based films compulsively include. Instead we linger in grotty apartments and a smoky bar with the sensation of uncomfortably viewing events through a peephole.
The ending is cleverly crafted and the plot twist within a twist is genuinely unexpected. There is a slight feeling however that for all Nolan's ingenuity in displacing the narration he is merely covering up for the fact that it is a fairly uninspiring story. With Memento, Nolan had a genuine reason for muddling up events as we followed the story of a man who was incapable of creating new memories. Here the reasoning for this device is unapparent and although it is done very cleverly within the context it can be seen as a bit of a gimmick. Nevertheless, for a first film made with such a miniscule funds, Following is compulsive viewing and evidence that cinema can be just as, if not more, inspiring without a multi million dollar budget.
Great plot, weak acting
Review date: 2007-07-15 Rating: 6 out of 10
The title of my review sums it up for me!! Definitely worth a look because the plot is intelligent, but the execution is a bit wooden though. I've seen worse though-definitely one to watch.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Alex Haw
Dick Bradsell
John Nolan
Lucy Russell
Jeremy Theobald
Creators:
Jeremy Theobald (Primary Contributor)
Jeremy Theobald (Producer)
Alex Haw (Primary Contributor)
Christopher Nolan (Cinematographer)
Christopher Nolan (Editor)
Christopher Nolan (Producer)
Christopher Nolan (Writer)
Emma Thomas (Producer)
Peter Broderick (Producer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Momentum Pictures
Manufacturer: Momentum Pictures
EAN: 5060021171450
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2003-07-07
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 70 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1999
Language: English (Original Language)