Following

[Water Bottle]

Review, Discuss, All that Jazz.

[Water Bottle]

Christopher Nolan's first feature film is a short one, coming at only 70 minutes. Yet with those 70 minutes, he can develop great characters and tell a better story than most directors who take more time. While Following is not perfect, it is pretty damn good. The story starts simple enough, but as the movie goes alone it gets a little confusing. Everything does become clear at the end of the episode, but there were moments where I did lose the thread of the story. This isn't necessarily a criticism, since the film isn't linear and so it's meant to confuse the viewer a bit. I felt that since it was black-and-white, the lack of colors confused me on who was on the screen at times and so it confused me more than it was supposed to. When the plot does finish, when it all comes together, then that's when you realize just how good of a story Nolan told and how he had set up everything almost perfectly for that ending (which I personally didn't see coming).

The characters themselves were pretty good. The character the film largely follows, the young writer, is nicely developed throughout the film. He starts out innocent, even unsure about the events of the plot, but he quickly takes into the lifestyle. He is never in control, as he's a puppet of the girl and the guy known as Cobb. Cobb is a fascinating character, one whom I wanted to spend more time with. He's the one who truly commands the movie, and the plot as well. His whole mastery at pulling all the strings simply was outstanding. While the female wasn't very interesting, that's probably only because she wasn't developed herself. In fact, I lost interest whenever she tended to appear until two-thirds of the way in when the film reveals a lot about her.

What's impressive is that the unknown, inexperienced cast of the movie managed to bring all their characters to life. The editing, even the sound effects, were all pretty impressive and Christopher Nolan managed to bring everything together rather nicely. Overall, this was one great film and even a classic in it's own right. Which is pretty high praise for a first film, but it can show why Nolan has become one of my favorite directors.

A

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Very impressive and after making a short film. It makes this film so impressive.8/10

[rockNrollaDIM]

I wonder if people would praise this film so much if they hadn't seen Nolan's others.... I watched this a couple years ago and didn't find it very enjoyable or memorable.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

not by people online but critics still liked when it first came out.

[Goffe]

The initial premise is intriguing, but it kinda falls apart in the middle, it becomes monotonous, the (generic) final twists makes the final film better though.

It's a decent film nonethless 70/100

Lol at the bat symbol in the door

Edited October 27, 2014 by Goffe R Swanson

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

Nolan's weakest film. Works more on an intellectual level than an emotional one. It's sort of like Pi (Aronofsky's first film) in that regard. The twist at the end is great though.

[redfirebird2008]

I wonder if people would praise this film so much if they hadn't seen Nolan's others.... I watched this a couple years ago and didn't find it very enjoyable or memorable.

 

I think it's impressive that he was even able to make it given the lack of budget or professional help. $6,000 for the film stock was the only money spent on the film. All in all pretty good debut considering the extreme no budget nature of it.

 

C (7.5/10)

[Kvikk Lunsj]

it is an okay film but film made with just using films it is really great. Nolan did a good for what he had and the cast did a decent job in there roles. The twist at the end was good. 

2.5/5 

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

I think it's impressive that he was even able to make it given the lack of budget or professional help. $6,000 for the film stock was the only money spent on the film. All in all pretty good debut considering the extreme no budget nature of it.

 

C (7.5/10)

A 7.5/10 is a C

 

 

 

You should use a different conversion scale (not that it really matters considering the fact that the numerical rating will stay the same).

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

2.5/5 

You thought I was Claire Nolan Holt for a sec, didn't you?

 

[redfirebird2008]

A 7.5/10 is a C

 

 

 

You should use a different conversion scale (not that it really matters considering the fact that the numerical rating will stay the same).

 

It's probably not an accurate way of doing it, but a "C" in school was always something in the 70's on a scale of 100. Anything in the 90's would be an "A" and anything in the 80's would be a "B." So that is what I use for grading films, though I prefer to use numerical grades instead of letter grades.

[luna]

the comedy in this movie is the sort of comedy where you laugh at the attempt at comedy rather than the actual comedy. it's very well shot and put together, but this is pretty amateur stuff, an overly 'and all the pieces come together, wooooaaahhh!' sort of thing with hilarious acting. only 69 minutes though. and on youtube.

 

4.0

[Goffe]

you should watch Criterion blu ray, the video quality is pretty damn good.

[Joel M]

This is the only Nolan I've never seen before, so since Dunkirk isn't gonna released here until late August it's perfect time for my first Nolan marathon ie not really a marathon since I work and stuff but still.

 

It is kind of amateurish and the actors are never really selling it, but I guess you can give this movie a pass regarding production values and casting because it wasn't even close to the vicinity of other super low budget films of the era like Pi and Blair Witch Project. It was shot for $6000, as a production it's a hair above "a dude made a movie in his garage". I think it's pretty decent "all the pieces are coming together" story like someone already said, but nothing more than that. Unlike some later Nolan movies that also had subtext tied to their twists and turns, this time it's just a GOTCHA and nothing more, or it comes across that way because the actors really aren't up to the task.

 

But it's a pretty decent movie, especially considering the budget.

[Blankments]

Following begins as a suave and fun crime thriller but then sadly becomes the prototype for a lot of Nolan tropes that have become very cliche. This isn't a surprise, and one could argue this isn't a fault of the film, but the story being presented here is nothing exciting. The anachronic order is annoying and does nothing to help the tale being told. The use of females in this film is constantly disturbing, more so than usual in a film by Christopher Nolan. However, the acting is universally good, with Haw's Cobb being truly charismatic in the best sense, and the first half of the film is very engaging. Following is a decent debut film, but when one knows what's to come from its director, it ultimately ends up being just a curiosity rather than a good film. C