Following (1998)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writer:

Christopher Nolan (written by)

Release Date:

6 May 1999 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

You're Never Alone.

Plot:

A young writer who follows strangers for material meets a thief who takes him under his wing.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Burglar | Hammer | Photograph | Burglary

Awards:

4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Theobald	...	The Young Man
Alex Haw	...	Cobb
Lucy Russell	...	The Blonde
John Nolan	...	The Policeman
Dick Bradsell	...	The Bald Guy
Gillian El-Kadi	...	Home Owner
Jennifer Angel	...	Waitress
Nicolas Carlotti	...	Barman
Darren Ormandy	...	Accountant
Guy Greenway	...	Heavy #1
Tassos Stevens	...	Heavy #2
Tristan Martin	...	Man at Bar
Rebecca James	...	Woman at Bar
Paul Mason	...	Home Owner's Friend
David Bovill	...	Home Owner's Husband

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Certification:

Netherlands:12 (re-rating) (2004) | Canada:14A (video rating) | France:U | Netherlands:16 (original rating) (video rating) | UK:15 | USA:R | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Next Wave Films

Trivia:

The second apartment Bill and Cobb break into has a batman sticker on the door. Christopher Nolan would later go on to direct Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008)

Quotes:

Bill: And when it's stopped being random, that's when it started to go wrong.

Movie Connections:

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Nolan's Clever Debut

The debut that plucked from obscurity one of the brighter stars of contemporary noir is an assured, if limited, stab at the con game and obsession. Filmed for zero money, Nolan couldn't have chosen a better subject than the drab and seamy underside of London to ply his trade, given the lack of funds. This short (67 min) is at its best in playing with the audience's and protagonist's expectations about who is scamming whom, though the initial set-up does ring some alarm bells in the credibility dept. The muddy cinematography (he often used natural lighting due to budget) can be mostly chalked up to noir stylization, though the limitations do show at times.

One can easily see Nolan's style developing in this fledgling effort; many of the same themes of blurred identity and expectation smashing recur in MEMENTO and INSOMNIA. Not a masterpiece but good and certainly worth a look for modern noir and Nolan fans.