Review of Following (1999) by Ethan A — 26 Jun 2011

Essentially, Memento on training wheels, Following is a wildly clever thriller from Christopher Nolan, who later went on to direct such modern day classics like Memento, Insomnia, and the Dark Knight.

Following follows (no pun intended) "The Young Man", who has a bad habit of just stalking people. He eventually finds a man who is a thief, but not like a big time thief...he enjoys taking little things, they kind of things that we get irritated when we misplace. Soon they start working together, and fall victim to their dangerous habits.

This film has from top to bottom, a no name cast, which makes believing these characters that much easier. I called it Memento on training wheels because it took the jumbled storytelling of Memento and even jumbled it further. You realized Memento is told backwards, but you have no idea what direction this film takes place in. Only the subtle things tell you, like hairstyles or bruises.

For just an hour and ten minutes, Nolan manages to a make a very good thriller that was just the start of things to come.