Following

Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining
Review: I got this because, like most, I really enjoyed "Momento." Like that movie, "Following" takes a nonlinear approach to narrative. Watching it may be a little frustrating at first, but, with patience, you'll soon be following what's going on (har har har). It had a great heist story, with strong, well-drawn characters, very good acting, and a lot of visual style that doesn't seem at all superfluous--unlike too many film makers working today. The extras on the DVD are pretty good, too: An alternate-angle view of the shooting script as well as an option to view the film in its chronological order.

Rating:
Summary: A simple mans Review
Review: I sat down in anticipation to see what else the writer of memento would throw at me. I was put off at first because it was black and white, but about 3 minutes into the movie I no longer cared. The movie was amazing, plenty of twists, lots of weird things going on, and much more easy to follow that memento, which was good considering I watched it at 3am. The things discussed in the movie ("shadowing" and bordeling fetish breaking and entering) was origional, and much appreciated in a world seemingly filled with sub-standard, repetitive, regurgitated ideas. This was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, and recomend that any one purchase it.

Rating:
Summary: This movie has style!
Review: I, as probably many other people, got this movie after I watched "Memento", the second movie by the same director, Christopher Nolan, which I liked very much. I liked his first one too, although probably the comparison with his follow up Hollywood production makes 'Following' even more interesting. It is low budget independent movie in noir style that is shot in black and white. The style of the movie reminds me old french crime movies although it adds the twists so familiar to us from 'Memento': the order of the movie doesn't follow the real order so you see different pieces in different times trying to recreate what really happened. The plot itself, although unpredictable (the ending is totally surprising) not really convincing and logical. But it's ok since, in my opinion, the main quality of this movie is its style. The acting is adequate. All in all although not groundbreaking it is interesting especially as prequel to 'Following'.

Rating:
Summary: Original
Review: If there's something important that must be said first, which has evidently baffled more than one reviewer, it's that Following was made on a shoestring budget (and shot on about 8 months worth of Saturdays) three years BEFORE the film which probably brought your attention here. The camera is not at all shaky, and the acting is quite good - Jeremy Theobald plays the lead with an unshakeable sense of innocence, right towards the end. Opposite the innocent, we have the villain and charismatic gremlin of the piece, Cobb (Alex Haw). The setting struck me too - this i London, but not the London of films with one eye welded to American chequebooks - no monuments or tours of Windsor in this film. The backstreets and rooftops of London provide the gritty and lethally unregarded backdrop to this effort. Furthermore, don't mistake the film for how it's been billed - 'Bill, lonely would-be writer, starts following people, and obsession becomes...etc.etc.' There are no windy, drawn-out parallels between writing-and-voyeurism blah blah blah as the art-film crowd might well expect; in fact it's dispensed with in the first few minutes. The film follows three time-streams, and cleverly puts the viewer (as in Memento, and Graham Swift's novel Waterland, which inspired it - so much so hollywood reviewers made the mistake of citing Nolan as an influence to the recent film of Swift's similar novel Last Orders) in the position of detective. It didn't go over my head at all - and you don't notice the fact it's in black and white because I have yet to see a film that draws you so well by virtue of its engrossing plot. The last shot of the film is quite haunting too - as one character makes his escape, and dissolves into the crowd, to pick his next victim. This is first and foremost an intelligent crime thriller, utterly absorbing, and has not a whiff of pretension. Whatever flaws people perceive are in fact their own shortcomings - you could do far worse than buy this film.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional DVD
Review: If you're looking at this DVD, odds are it's because you saw "Memento" and wondered about the director, Christopher Nolan. Let's cut to the chase: Yes, "Following" is similar to "Memento" -- its narrative jumps around in a similar way, to start with -- and yes, it's basically just as good a movie. If you're wanting to stumble across a great young film noir director, Christopher Nolan is your guy, and this movie is well worth a look. Make that two or three looks.

I have to say, when I read the DVD case and saw that this plot wasn't told chronologically, the first word that came to mind was "gimmick." For "Memento" it made sense to tell things backward, because of the whole memory-impairment center of the story, but here Nolan was doing it again in an earlier movie? I was set to see a sort of warmup run, especially because this one was made with almost no budget at all.

Okay, so I was wrong. "Following" tells a few different lines of the story at once, but it doesn't tell them in reverse; here the idea is that the story's framework is a conversation between our main character and another man who's interviewing him in the opening moments. In the (dryly funny) director commentary, Nolan says he's trying to provide the viewer with details and themes in a "conversational" way. Maybe that's a conceit, but dang it, the mixed up storyline worked on this one too.

Two other common points of the two movies: they're built on incredibly spare, lean writing, and they really, really reward watching at least twice.

Following, if anything, is even more minimalistic than Memento; it's literally true that you come out of the movie not knowing any of the characters' real names. Given the premise -- that the main character develops an inappropriate, fascinated interest in the intimate lives of anonymous people he sees in a crowd -- the doubt you feel even about the characters' names makes perfect sense. A bunch of other little touches on that theme really hit home with me -- boxes full of memorabilia that are (or maybe aren't) giving our protagonist a look at people's internal lives, and so on. Gradually you realize the story's so sparely told because we're like the main character, trying to figure people out by looking at the pieces of their story from a distance in a crowd.

And man, does Following reward a second watching. You'll get through it once and you'll kick it around for a while, work out the stuff you missed, tell your friends what you noticed... and then you all want to hit Play again. Every scene plays a little differently the second, or third, time through. That's exactly the sort of movie you want to collect, right?

If you are a collector sort, you'll like the few extras this one provides. For a "no budget" indie film, it really "gets" the DVD thing. There's an alternate camera angle with the modified script, so you can play through and watch where Nolan and company made changes along the way. Some of the changes are pretty funny; the sound guy's name got substituted for one of the character names. Nolan's commentary soundtrack is really worth hearing, too, especially because he made this with no money at all. He talks about how he established continuity for the viewer with little visual cues, throws off very funny little asides about how he cut corners, and stuff like that. Finally, you also get a "chronological" option, so you can see everything in order. It's all set in a nicely elegant set of menus that match the sleak tone of the movie.

So, yeah, it's worth it. Following is extremely memorable. It's not a perfect movie, or anything -- I'd still say either The Third Man or The Big Sleep is my favorite film noir -- but give it four stars and change, for doing so much on a shoestring.

You gotta wonder what Christopher Nolan can do to back this up. He's going to have more money in hand, and the fractured story thing might not last another movie. Hearing the director commentary on this disc, I don't think he's going to necessarily be limited to the cynical point of view these two movies have seemed to push. The guy has a real eye for character, for the way people head in unlikely directions... This could be an amazing career we're seeing start up, or then again maybe these are just a little too cynical to start with.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional DVD
Review: If you're looking at this DVD, odds are it's because you saw "Memento" and wondered about the director, Christopher Nolan. Let's cut to the chase: Yes, "Following" is similar to "Memento" -- its narrative jumps around in a similar way, to start with -- and yes, it's basically just as good a movie. If you're wanting to stumble across a great young film noir director, Christopher Nolan is your guy, and this movie is well worth a look. Make that two or three looks.

I have to say, when I read the DVD case and saw that this plot wasn't told chronologically, the first word that came to mind was "gimmick." For "Memento" it made sense to tell things backward, because of the whole memory-impairment center of the story, but here Nolan was doing it again in an earlier movie? I was set to see a sort of warmup run, especially because this one was made with almost no budget at all.

Okay, so I was wrong. "Following" tells a few different lines of the story at once, but it doesn't tell them in reverse; here the idea is that the story's framework is a conversation between our main character and another man who's interviewing him in the opening moments. In the (dryly funny) director commentary, Nolan says he's trying to provide the viewer with details and themes in a "conversational" way. Maybe that's a conceit, but dang it, the mixed up storyline worked on this one too.

Two other common points of the two movies: they're built on incredibly spare, lean writing, and they really, really reward watching at least twice.

Following, if anything, is even more minimalistic than Memento; it's literally true that you come out of the movie not knowing any of the characters' real names. Given the premise -- that the main character develops an inappropriate, fascinated interest in the intimate lives of anonymous people he sees in a crowd -- the doubt you feel even about the characters' names makes perfect sense. A bunch of other little touches on that theme really hit home with me -- boxes full of memorabilia that are (or maybe aren't) giving our protagonist a look at people's internal lives, and so on. Gradually you realize the story's so sparely told because we're like the main character, trying to figure people out by looking at the pieces of their story from a distance in a crowd.

And man, does Following reward a second watching. You'll get through it once and you'll kick it around for a while, work out the stuff you missed, tell your friends what you noticed... and then you all want to hit Play again. Every scene plays a little differently the second, or third, time through. That's exactly the sort of movie you want to collect, right?

If you are a collector sort, you'll like the few extras this one provides. For a "no budget" indie film, it really "gets" the DVD thing. There's an alternate camera angle with the modified script, so you can play through and watch where Nolan and company made changes along the way. Some of the changes are pretty funny; the sound guy's name got substituted for one of the character names. Nolan's commentary soundtrack is really worth hearing, too, especially because he made this with no money at all. He talks about how he established continuity for the viewer with little visual cues, throws off very funny little asides about how he cut corners, and stuff like that. Finally, you also get a "chronological" option, so you can see everything in order. It's all set in a nicely elegant set of menus that match the sleak tone of the movie.

So, yeah, it's worth it. Following is extremely memorable. It's not a perfect movie, or anything -- I'd still say either The Third Man or The Big Sleep is my favorite film noir -- but give it four stars and change, for doing so much on a shoestring.

You gotta wonder what Christopher Nolan can do to back this up. He's going to have more money in hand, and the fractured story thing might not last another movie. Hearing the director commentary on this disc, I don't think he's going to necessarily be limited to the cynical point of view these two movies have seemed to push. The guy has a real eye for character, for the way people head in unlikely directions... This could be an amazing career we're seeing start up, or then again maybe these are just a little too cynical to start with.

Rating:
Summary: Another Classic from Nolan!
Review: It's indeed another classic from Christopher Nolan, the director of Memento. He takes you on another wild ride in this film.

It has a very interesting plot with some great unexpecting twists! The suspense and the story of the film keeps you on the edge of the seat through the entire film. It is a must see film and DVD!

Nolan's next film with Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank is a re-make of the original Norweigen film "Insomnia." It's going to a must see film for 2002!!! The original is also a must see film as well.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Film Film!
Review: Nolan's first film is great. This film is very low budget, but that doesn't mean it can't be good. Nolan does a brilliant job with the direction and a story with a nice twist. A must for any Nolan fan.

Following, Memento, and Insomnia...This guy already has some great credits under his arm.

Rating:
Summary: Stalking as a hobby; burglary as a thrill
Review: Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive!
--Sir Walter Scott

In this intriguing noir thriller (looking like the Forties, but with a psychology befitting the Nineties), Director Christopher Nolan employs a number of techniques he would perfect in his internationally acclaimed Memento (2000), most notably scenes presented out of time sequence for effect, and a naive protagonist taken advantage of by others.

The film opens with "Bill, the Innocent" (as I might dub him), played by Jeremy Theobald, trying to explain to someone, perhaps a social worker, perhaps even a police inspector (John Nolan), why he took up following people just for the fun of it. He doesn't just follow women, he points out. He's not a stalker, as such. He's just curious. He's an intriguing and sympathetic character, a Brit writer with a lot of time on his hands who seems something of a throwback to an earlier age with his clanking manual typewriter and the photo of a pursed-lips Marilyn Monroe on the wall of his shabby apartment.

Things began to go wrong for him, he further explains, when he broke some of his "following rules" and got too close to his prey. What he doesn't know and what we don't know yet, is that his clumsy following technique has allowed him to unwittingly become the followed himself.

Enter a juicy blonde (Lucy Russell) walking down some steps from her apartment. (This scene is out of sequence as far as chronological time goes, but psychologically speaking, her appearance signals his entanglement). Enter now a scheming, sophisticated psychopathic thrill-seeker named Cobb (Alex Haw) who entices Bill with his (apparent) practice of burglary just for the powerful feeling one gets from invading the sanctity of another's life.

Although justification for the temporal inversions here is not as clearly established as in Memento, nonetheless the technique works well, and Nolan provides us with a clever ending that sneaks up on us and makes in a few seconds all that went before clear. Or mostly clear. You might want to rewind and view the first few minutes of the film, and then everything should be clarity.

This low-budget, black and white, deliciously ironic little film (71 minutes) marked the auspicious debut of a film maker who has already made quite a name for himself, not only with the aforementioned Memento, but with Insomnia (2002). It will be interesting to see what Nolan does next.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, thought-provoking film
Review: The director of "Memento" does not disappoint with this movie. As in "Memento," viewers are asked to piece together a chronologically scattered puzzle. The result is a well done, thought-provoking film that's worth watching, and watching again to share with friends.