Following (1998)

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writer:

Christopher Nolan (written by)

Release Date:

6 May 1999 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

You're Never Alone.

Plot:

A young writer who follows strangers for material meets a thief who takes him under his wing.

Plot Keywords:

Nonlinear Timeline | Gangster | Flashback Sequence | Deception | Burglary

Awards:

4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Theobald	...	The Young Man
Alex Haw	...	Cobb
Lucy Russell	...	The Blonde
John Nolan	...	The Policeman
Dick Bradsell	...	The Bald Guy
Gillian El-Kadi	...	Home Owner
Jennifer Angel	...	Waitress
Nicolas Carlotti	...	Barman
Darren Ormandy	...	Accountant
Guy Greenway	...	Heavy #1
Tassos Stevens	...	Heavy #2
Tristan Martin	...	Man at Bar
Rebecca James	...	Woman at Bar
Paul Mason	...	Home Owner's Friend
David Bovill	...	Home Owner's Husband

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Certification:

Canada:14A (video rating) | France:U | Netherlands:16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Next Wave Films

Trivia:

The second apartment Bill and Cobb break into has a batman sticker on the door. Christopher Nolan would later go on to direct Batman Begins.

Quotes:

Bill: And when it's stopped being random, that's when it started to go wrong.

Movie Connections:

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

A dark, manipulative, and very accomplished thriller

An untidy man, known as Bill, lives in a small dreary flat, with a poster of Marilyn Monroe on the wall, and his typewriter for company. Only the man can't think of anything to write. He wanders around the streets following people, just to see where they go. Maybe this will give him some inspiration to write. He begins to follow a well dressed man holding a bag. He follows him for a few days. While in a cafe, the well dressed man sits down at a table on the opposite side of Bill, and inquires why Bill is following him. The well dressed man says his name is Cobb. Cobb then surprisingly informs Bill that he is a burglar, and even starts to take Bill with him into houses to steal things; although Cobb insists he doesn't go into other people's homes to just steal. He says he likes to let people know he has been there, and interrupted the things they take for granted. He puts knickers from another burglary into a man's trousers, for example.

The film is told in flashbacks at times too. The director used this technique in greater abundance in his recent feature Memento. Bill eventually decides to cut his hair and dress in a suit, on the advice of Cobb. He meets a Blonde lady in a club, who used to date the owner, a bald man, who is very dangerous, she says. We see a scene where a hammer is used by the bald man's hence men on a man's fingers in the Blonde lady's flat. These are some of the many pieces of the puzzle that the director shows us, and they will all fit into place when we arrive at the surprising conclusion.