Review of Following (1999) by Ken S — 31 Mar 2012

Every man has a box.

The first feature film in the Christopher Nolan collection.

The Story: A young man, takes to following people, examining their actions, seeing what they do and trying to figure out just how the human mind works. When he gets caught following a burglar, his life takes an unexpected turn. It's easy to see how something like this could jump start the Christopher Nolans career. It's got a great gritty style, strong characters, a genius script and enough twists and turns to make you dizzy. The biggest catch to this film though, is that it's incredibly nonlinear, it skips around and for the average viewer is probably just plane confusing. Film noir at it's most original.

The Cast: Jeremy Theobald, Alex Hall, Lucy Russell. Jeremy Theobald is Bill, the follower. A character like nothing you've ever seen. Giving an incredible performance from start to finish, he proves to be one of the greatest actors I've ever seen in any film. Yeah, he's that good, it's just a shame we don't see more of him in other films. Alex Hall is Cobb, the thief. He's the word villain personified, cold, heartless, and real enough to be legitimately terrifying. Lucy Russell is The Blonde. Picture perfect Hitchcockian character right here. Playing the part with the same striking realism as the rest of the cast, it's surprising that we don't see more of her in other features.

One to Five Scale: 5.

It's an acquired taste to the highest degree, but if you're looking for something completely original than this is for you. My highest recommendations for any fan of film noir.

Tyler.