Review of Following (1999) by David B — 02 Jun 2013

Whew, I'm one step closer to watching every feature film Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight, Inception) has ever done. In fact, after a quick check at his imdb page, I only have Insomnia left. Anyway, let's crack this one open.

Following is this neo-noir film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. As it starts, we encounter a man who starts to follow strangers around London supposedly for the benefit of writing a novel. One of the strangers he follows, however, notices him. And as it turns out, this particular stranger is a burglar who invites our main character along for a few burglaries. From then on, Following is a thrilling noir tale which even includes the appearance of a blond femme fatale. To further divulge the plot of the film would be a crime against those that haven't seen it.

Following really was what I would expect from Christopher Nolan's first outing of a feature film. The non-linear narrative once more seems to be Nolan's forte as he tells a story out of typical chronological sequence without really giving setups to know exactly what's going on. And yet, by the time the movie ends, everything will have clicked. Every uncertain scene will be clear. Nolan seems to know how to tell a story that forces its audience to pay attention, and because of this, the rewards are that much sweeter. Nolan as a writer here also provides some interesting dialogue between our supposed writer and the professional burglar, discussing the nature of how we secretly write diaries to be read and the like.

Following's conclusion was clever, but also quite dark, which is to be expected from the world of noir. I wonder if this is a film I could learn to love with multiple viewings. If perhaps, like Nolan's other works, the levels to the film are more intricate that we grasp the first time.