Review of Following (1999) by Sam P — 11 Apr 2012

I have to admit, I bought Following by Christopher Nolan because I was already a huge fan of Nolan and had also heard good things. To be honest, I knew nothing about it, and due to that, kind of didnâ(TM)t mind paying just £2.50 for it due to this. So when I sat down to watch the film, I was prepared for anything.

What I wasnâ(TM)t prepared for was how simple the directing and shooting of the film was really. I found after it took a year to make in between all the cast and crew working full time, however, the quality of the direction was simultaneously high and seemingly so simple, close taken shots and stationary camera shots were pretty much it. This wasnâ(TM)t a bad thing, to be honest it worked for the film, it was just surprising considering how big some of Nolanâ(TM)s shots are that I am used to.

Unsurprisingly, one of the strongest elements was the script. The film is only 70 minutes long but the script creates 3 main characters, set up their roles, mixes them together and moves the plot along in better manner then the majority of recently released horror films or action films. The fact it ended after only 70 minutes and it feels like nothing was missed out and anything else would have been superfluous, is magnificently impressive. The dialogue is good as well, which shows Nolan had this strength from early on.

However, one thing I was surprised at is the actor who played Cobb. He was the strongest performer in this film, and I would have thought he would have made more appearances afterwards. But anyways, as expected, I thought Christopher Nolanâ(TM)s first film was a strong effort, and showed much potential for the future, as exhibited nowadays :).