Review of Following (1999) by Sean L — 10 Feb 2012

Christopher Nolan's extremely low-budget, high-concept debut is one nasty character. Cerebral and verbose, it lulled me into a trance with long, casual chats about the practice of breaking and entering as a social experiment, then suddenly smacked me with a sharp jerk of the wheel that skewed everything.

Appropriate, effective use of hand-held cameras give the screen a disheveled, voyeuristic look and feel that had me averting my eyes out of guilt and embarrassment once or twice. A very small, casual cast seemed to know that's what Nolan was after, and played it up beautifully, with sudden piercing glares that often shot straight through the lens.

The concept of non-linear narration may be starting to feel a bit played out at the moment, but when used with care and efficiency it can still be a powerful, effective means to a surprise end - and this is a great example of that.

An unusually brief run time (70 minutes) may seem short at a glance; worry not, it'll stay with you for days.