Following

As we approach a July that may very well have us back in theaters, I'm getting excited at both just the general prospect of getting some new movies again, but also that it seems *crosses fingers furiously* that the highly-anticipated Tenet will be able to avoid the delays that so many films have fallen victim to. 

In an effort to prepare for what will surely be an exciting and thrilling film, I've been catching up on my Christopher Nolan films - most of which I've already seen - to refresh myself with one of Hollywood's best directors. That is, when I've not been catching up on watching many of the old Bond films for the first time. 

Quarantine is a weird time, I tell ya!

Nolan's first film isn't really a full length film at all. Coming in at a shockingly short 70 minutes, Following, is the director's debut back in 1998. It was a couple years before Memento, the film that would put him on the map, and 10 years before The Dark Knight - the film that arguably catapulted him into the highly regarded sphere he's in today. 

At 70 minutes, and in full black-and-white, Following is much different than many of Nolan's films that we see later in his career. The juxtaposition of thinking about this film (low budget, short, small scale plot) with what Nolan was able to accomplish with something like Interstellar, for example, (huge budget, big stars, epic in scale and in length of time) is amusing. I realize that I was perhaps watching Following more for the career story of Nolan than the actual film itself and it's clear that A) he started with talent but B) has gotten better with age. 

Following is a very impressive film, even when you consider that it's his first. With the small budget, he does the best he can and I found the only thing that was truly cringe-worthy was the fight choreography. That's a small facet of the film and it's directed with a poise that you can tell contains special talent waiting to be unlocked. Here, it's partially unlocked. Following is about a Young Man who is a writer. He likes just following random people to "see where they go". Nothing sinister or malicious about it. One day, he follows someone who approaches him, Cobb, and he's introduced to a easy-going life of burglary. Or at least that's what it seems. The plot is presented in classic Nolan fashion across a few different points in time and non sequentially. It's done somewhat ineffectively here until later in the film, so it's clear that he'll practice that throughout his career, but it does help to build the suspense of wondering what might happen next. Also incredibly interesting (and potentially an obscure connection) is that Leonardo DiCaprio's Inception character is named Cobb - and there are certainly some similarities here. One has to wonder if Nolan did that on purpose or just liked the name?

Social distancing makes it far easier to follow people without being noticed

"Um yes, there's a man dressed like a bat.
He's just staring at me."

Following ends up with a twisty, turning ending - again, classic Nolan - that's handled remarkably well for a freshman film and it makes what seems like a straightforward (sometimes mundane) film that much better by the end. It doesn't feel cheap and it's not all revealed at once, but instead over the course of a series of twists in the latter 20 minutes that continue to keep you guessing. I was also impressed by the choice to go black-and-white. I can't say it adds as much to the film here as The Lighthouse, but it strangely feels like the right choice as I feel like a color version wouldn't be nearly as memorable or exciting. And even though Hans Zimmer is no where to be found, the original score is quite good and particularly fitting in the important moments, indicating that even early on, Nolan believed in the power of meaningful music to elevate his craft.

After a somewhat disappointing - or at least surprisingly straight-forward Insomnia - I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Following, but I was immensely intrigued to watch Nolan's first film and the only one remaining that I hadn't seen. Understanding that it's his first mainstream effort and that it's a late 90s (now 20+ years old!), low-budget film, I was wildly impressed with what Nolan was able to scrap together. And as the inception of his career (ahh!! See what I did there?!?), it's clear that he'd be a talent to watch, though perhaps none of us expected that he'd be as astronomically awesome as he is today. 

CONS

• Low-budget doesn't rear its head much but the fight choreography is laughably bad
• Non-linear story telling doesn't always feel effective
• Some so-so dialogue and acting (comes and goes)

PROS

• Impressive direction for a first film
• Short! Does what it needs to and then gets out
• Fun plot that keeps you guessing. Non-linear storytelling mostly works and the ending has several well-planned twists that feel fair
• Strong original score and the combination with black-and-white footage adds that extra "something"

Retro Rath's Review Score | 8/10