Following
"Nolan is a talent who bears watching!" -San Francisco Examiner
Following is a wickedly clever story of how a young man's obsession with following people leads him into a dark underworld. Bill, the unlikely hero, is a marginalized but intriguing Everyman who follows strangers at random on the street. When Cobb, a man Bill has been following, catches him in the act, Bill is drawn into Cobb's world of breaking into flats and prying into the personal lives of their victims. In Cobb, Bill finds a strange companion - part mentor, part confessor and part evil twin. With an ingenious structure that involves flash forwards and doubling back, the film tests our knowledge and understanding just as the protagonist is being duped into an elaborate triple-cross. Following heralded Christopher Nolan as a promising new talent whose promise was amply confirmed with Memento.
Member Reviews
A Promising Start - Mookie
This is a low budget effort from Christopher Nolan who is (IMO) the best director out there today. Memento is on my Top Ten list of movies and efforts like Insomnia, Dark Kniight and Inception (let's forget Batman Begins, shall we?) have only cemented his reputation as the smartest and most inovative director/writer (with his brother) out there. This movie is very much a first effort by Nolan and the lack of budget shows, as do some of the lesser talents of the actors. But what we have after that is a clever movie with enough twists and enough style to make it well worth a film buffs time. Playing with the time (showing things out of sequence) adds interest to a bit of a slow moving story. And the ending, while a clever twist, only occurs because the main character is a bit of an idiot (I am still not sure why he is motivated to do what he does at the end). But plot holes aside it is an interesting story. I do wish the idea of "following" strangers was built on more than we see here. I thought that was the most interesting idea in the movie.If you liked Memento, this is worth the watch - Coconut_Willy
This is the first movie made by Christopher Nolan that is available on DVD and it bears many similarities with Memento which was the film for which he is better known. Although the story is different, it is constructed in a similar way with erratic jumps in time. The storyline itself is quite original and is very well developed with numerous twists and surprises. It is probably even more difficult to follow than Memento as the film does not continuously jump further in the past; instead, you have two parts of the story running in parallel that take place at different times. I thought it was very well presented. The cast is quite interesting doing a fair acting job with an elaborate dialogue. The sets and locations are good as well as the camera work. I don't believe that this is for everyone but if you enjoyed Memento, you should give it a chance at least to see how it came about.Excellent look at the nature of crime and the grip it seems to have on human nature - Lone_Wolf
Following, from the director of Memento is the intricate and expertly woven story of a writer who follows people out of fascination. However, this fascination starts to grow and grow and soon he begins to follow a man more than once…Following is an excellent chronicle of how obsession and voyeurism can grow to dangerous levels. The narrative is cut up into a non chronological sequence which leaves you guessing and shrouded in mystery. The black and white photography gives the film an excellent, unique, dark and shadowy style which contributes successfully to the great atmosphere Following creates. It is a very unique thriller type movie as it also deals with certain human lusts and desires – it is a very clever movie. Memento of course gets all the thunder, and don’t get me wrong it’s an excellent film, but Following is a unique treasure of a film which is unfairly overlooked. If you get a chance to see this, defiantly get around to it, because it's a gem of a movie.
Member Reviews
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A Promising Start - Mookie
This is a low budget effort from Christopher Nolan who is (IMO) the best director out there today. Memento is on my Top Ten list of movies and efforts like Insomnia, Dark Kniight and Inception (let's forget Batman Begins, shall we?) have only cemented his ...If you liked Memento, this is worth the watch - Coconut_Willy
This is the first movie made by Christopher Nolan that is available on DVD and it bears many similarities with Memento which was the film for which he is better known. Although the story is different, it is constructed in a similar way with erratic jumps in ...Excellent look at the nature of crime and the grip it seems to have on human nature - Lone_Wolf
Following, from the director of Memento is the intricate and expertly woven story of a writer who follows people out of fascination. However, this fascination starts to grow and grow and soon he begins to follow a man more than once…Following is an excellent ...