Following
Encyclopedia
Following is a 1998 British neo-noir
film written and directed by Christopher Nolan
. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London
and is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance. His debut film, it was designed to be as inexpensive as possible to make: scenes were heavily rehearsed so that just one or two takes were needed, thus economising on 16 mm film stock, the production's greatest expense, and for which Nolan was paying from his salary. Without expensive professional lighting equipment, Nolan mostly used available light. Apart from providing the script and direction, Nolan also did the photography, editing and production himself. The film has an unusual, non-linear plot structure which has been a feature in several of Nolan's films.
, ostensibly to find inspiration for his first novel. Initially, he sets strict rules for himself regarding whom he should follow and for how long, but soon discards them as he focuses on a well-groomed, handsome man in a dark suit. The man in the suit, having noticed he is being followed, quickly confronts the Young Man and introduces himself as "Cobb". Cobb reveals that he is a serial burglar and invites The Young Man to accompany him on various burglaries. The material gains from these crimes seem to be of secondary importance to Cobb, who takes pleasure in rifling through the personal items in his targets' flats, and doing things such as drinking their wine. He explains that his true passion is using the shock of robbery and violation of property to make his victims re-examine their lives. He sums up his attitude thus: "You take it away, and show them what they had."
The young man is thrilled by Cobb's lifestyle. He attempts break-ins of his own, as Cobb encourages and guides him. At Cobb's suggestion, he alters his appearance, cutting his hair short and wearing a dark suit. The young man assumes the name "Daniel Lloyd" based on the credit card Cobb gives to him and begins to pursue a relationship with a blonde woman whom he meets at a bar and who claims to be the girlfriend of a local gangster. It is later revealed that he and Cobb had broken into her flat prior to this first meeting. Soon, the blonde confides that the gangster is blackmailing her with incriminating photographs. The Young Man breaks into the gangster's safe, but the only photos he finds are innocuous modelling shots, and before leaving he bludgeons an unidentified man with a hammer who had seen him taking the photos and also a large sum of cash. After confronting the blonde, he learns that she and Cobb have been manipulating him into mimicking Cobb's methods to frame him for Cobb's recent murder charge.
The Young Man leaves to turn himself in to the police. The blonde reports her success to Cobb, who then reveals that he actually works for the gangster and has a plan of his own. In order to stop the blonde from blackmailing the gangster with evidence from a recent murder, Cobb kills her, using the same bloody hammer marked with the Young Man's fingerprints. Once the young man finishes his story to the police, he learns that he has been framed for the blonde's murder, which was Cobb's plan for him all along. As The Young Man is arrested, Cobb disappears into a crowd.
, on black-and-white 16mm
film stock
. Nolan used a non-linear plot structure for his movie, a device he again used in Memento, Batman Begins
and The Prestige
. This type of storytelling, he says, reflected the audience's inherent uncertainty about characters in film noir
:
Following was written and planned to be as inexpensive to produce as possible, but Nolan has described the production of Following as "extreme", even for a low-budget shoot. With little money, limited equipment, and a cast and crew who were all in full-time employment on weekdays, the production took a full year to complete.
To conserve expensive film stock, every scene in the film was rehearsed extensively to ensure that the first or second take could be used in the final edit
. Filming took place on Saturdays for three or four months, Nolan shot about fifteen minutes of footage each day. This time frame also moderated the cost of film-stock and allowed him to pay for it out of his salary. For the most part, Nolan filmed without professional film lighting equipment, largely employing available light
. This was made easier by the decision to use 16 mm black and white film. He also used the homes of his friends and family as locations.
Los Angeles Times
reviewer Kevin Thomas was particularly impressed with the film, saying that it was a "taut and ingenious neo-noir" and that "as a psychological mystery it plays persuasively if not profoundly. Nolan relishes the sheer nastiness he keeps stirred up, unabated for 70 minutes." TV Guide
called it "short, sharp and tough as nails", praising its fast-paced storytelling and 'tricky, triple-tiered flashback structure'. David Thompson of Sight and Sound
commented that "Nolan shows a natural talent for a fluent handheld aesthetic."
However, Tony Rayns
felt that the film's climax was uninspired, saying that "the generic pay off is a little disappointing after the edgy, character based scenes of exposition". Empire
' s Trevor Lewis questioned the skill of the film's inexperienced cast, saying that they "lack the dramatic ballast to compensate for [Nolan's] erratic plot elisions." In contrast, David Thompson was of the opinion that the "unfamiliar cast acquit themselves well in a simple naturalistic style."
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
film written and directed by Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance. His debut film, it was designed to be as inexpensive as possible to make: scenes were heavily rehearsed so that just one or two takes were needed, thus economising on 16 mm film stock, the production's greatest expense, and for which Nolan was paying from his salary. Without expensive professional lighting equipment, Nolan mostly used available light. Apart from providing the script and direction, Nolan also did the photography, editing and production himself. The film has an unusual, non-linear plot structure which has been a feature in several of Nolan's films.
Synopsis
A struggling, unemployed young writer (credited as "The Young Man") takes to following strangers around the streets of LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, ostensibly to find inspiration for his first novel. Initially, he sets strict rules for himself regarding whom he should follow and for how long, but soon discards them as he focuses on a well-groomed, handsome man in a dark suit. The man in the suit, having noticed he is being followed, quickly confronts the Young Man and introduces himself as "Cobb". Cobb reveals that he is a serial burglar and invites The Young Man to accompany him on various burglaries. The material gains from these crimes seem to be of secondary importance to Cobb, who takes pleasure in rifling through the personal items in his targets' flats, and doing things such as drinking their wine. He explains that his true passion is using the shock of robbery and violation of property to make his victims re-examine their lives. He sums up his attitude thus: "You take it away, and show them what they had."
The young man is thrilled by Cobb's lifestyle. He attempts break-ins of his own, as Cobb encourages and guides him. At Cobb's suggestion, he alters his appearance, cutting his hair short and wearing a dark suit. The young man assumes the name "Daniel Lloyd" based on the credit card Cobb gives to him and begins to pursue a relationship with a blonde woman whom he meets at a bar and who claims to be the girlfriend of a local gangster. It is later revealed that he and Cobb had broken into her flat prior to this first meeting. Soon, the blonde confides that the gangster is blackmailing her with incriminating photographs. The Young Man breaks into the gangster's safe, but the only photos he finds are innocuous modelling shots, and before leaving he bludgeons an unidentified man with a hammer who had seen him taking the photos and also a large sum of cash. After confronting the blonde, he learns that she and Cobb have been manipulating him into mimicking Cobb's methods to frame him for Cobb's recent murder charge.
The Young Man leaves to turn himself in to the police. The blonde reports her success to Cobb, who then reveals that he actually works for the gangster and has a plan of his own. In order to stop the blonde from blackmailing the gangster with evidence from a recent murder, Cobb kills her, using the same bloody hammer marked with the Young Man's fingerprints. Once the young man finishes his story to the police, he learns that he has been framed for the blonde's murder, which was Cobb's plan for him all along. As The Young Man is arrested, Cobb disappears into a crowd.
Cast
- Jeremy TheobaldJeremy TheobaldJeremy Theobald is a British actor best known for his portrayal of Bill , the main character in Christopher Nolan's major picture debut, Following . Following, for which Theobald was also a producer, was filmed around their day jobs...
as The Young Man - Alex Haw as Cobb
- Lucy RussellLucy Russell (actress)Lucy Russell is an English actress, possibly best known for starring as Grace Elliott in Éric Rohmer's L'Anglaise et le duc . Her first starring role was in Christopher Nolan's Following...
as The Blonde - John Nolan as The Policeman
- Dick BradsellDick BradsellDick Bradsell is a London bartender noted for his innovative work with cocktails, including the invention of many new recipes: The Observer has described him as the "cocktail king", while...
as The Bald Guy - Gillian El-Kadi as Home Owner
- Jennifer Angel as Waitress
- Nicolas Carlotti as Barman
- Darren Ormandy as Accountant
- Guy Greenway as Heavy #1
- Tassos Stevens as Heavy #2
- Tristan Martin as Man at Bar
- Rebecca James as Woman at Bar
- Paul Mason as Home Owner's Friend
- David Bovill as Home Owner's Husband
Production
Following was written, directed, filmed, and co-produced by Christopher Nolan. It was filmed in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on black-and-white 16mm
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
film stock
Film stock
Film stock is photographic film on which filmmaking of motion pictures are shot and reproduced. The equivalent in television production is video tape.-1889–1899:...
. Nolan used a non-linear plot structure for his movie, a device he again used in Memento, Batman Begins
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
and The Prestige
The Prestige (film)
The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
. This type of storytelling, he says, reflected the audience's inherent uncertainty about characters in film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
:
Following was written and planned to be as inexpensive to produce as possible, but Nolan has described the production of Following as "extreme", even for a low-budget shoot. With little money, limited equipment, and a cast and crew who were all in full-time employment on weekdays, the production took a full year to complete.
To conserve expensive film stock, every scene in the film was rehearsed extensively to ensure that the first or second take could be used in the final edit
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
. Filming took place on Saturdays for three or four months, Nolan shot about fifteen minutes of footage each day. This time frame also moderated the cost of film-stock and allowed him to pay for it out of his salary. For the most part, Nolan filmed without professional film lighting equipment, largely employing available light
Available light
In photography and cinematography, available light or ambient light refers to any source of light that is not explicitly supplied by the photographer for the purpose of taking photos. The term usually refers to sources of light that are already available naturally or artificial light already being...
. This was made easier by the decision to use 16 mm black and white film. He also used the homes of his friends and family as locations.
Reception
Following received generally positive reviews. Its aggregate review score from Rottentomatoes.com is 76%.Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reviewer Kevin Thomas was particularly impressed with the film, saying that it was a "taut and ingenious neo-noir" and that "as a psychological mystery it plays persuasively if not profoundly. Nolan relishes the sheer nastiness he keeps stirred up, unabated for 70 minutes." TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
called it "short, sharp and tough as nails", praising its fast-paced storytelling and 'tricky, triple-tiered flashback structure'. David Thompson of Sight and Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
commented that "Nolan shows a natural talent for a fluent handheld aesthetic."
However, Tony Rayns
Tony Rayns
Antony Rayns is a British writer, commentator, film festival programmer and screenwriter. Much inspired in his youth by the films of Kenneth Anger, he wrote for the underground publication Cinema Rising before contributing to the Monthly Film Bulletin from the December 1970 issue until its demise...
felt that the film's climax was uninspired, saying that "the generic pay off is a little disappointing after the edgy, character based scenes of exposition". Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...