Mubi Monday: Following (1998)

While Following may not be the greatest feature directorial debut ever, it's one that is interesting to watch now, to see how the man behind it has taken his particular preferences and packaged them in some of the most talked-about blockbuster spectacles of the modern age. Because if you want some puzzle to work out, some crisp and clean cinematography, and a non-linear narrative then you're obviously one of the many people to have enjoyed the work of Christopher Nolan. And this is essentially where his film career properly started.

Jeremy Theobald plays a struggling/aspiring writer (billed as "The Young Man") who spends a lot of his time observing random people in the street. He follows them for a while, considering what they may be getting up to with their lives. Unfortunately, or maybe not so unfortunately, The Young Man is caught in the act by a man named Cobb (Alex Haw). Cobb really doesn't want to be followed, mainly because he spends his time observing others, awaiting opportunities to enter their homes and cause some chaos while they're absent. The Young Man is appalled by this, but also intrigued. 

Taking a number of familiar noir elements (the morally "flexible" lead, the cool blonde, played by Lucy Russell, the spiralling journey towards an ending that isn't guaranteed to be happy for anyone involved), Following is a well-made neo-noir that works far better than expected, considering the low budget and limited resources. It's a bit dialogue-heavy, and some of the performances are a bit theatrical, but it's a very slick and entertaining way to spend 70 minutes.

Theobald is good in the main role, being led around by someone clearly out to have some fun with him. He grows more confident in his role, but never becomes as comfortable as the man showing him the ropes. Haw is fun, but he's the one who feels like the most theatrical performer, one raised eyebrow and cheeky grin away from looking at the audience and revealing the mechanics of whatever trick he is working on. Russell does well as The Blonde, and she's allowed to be more than just the vulnerable woman who may or may not also be a femme fatale. One or two others round out the small cast, including John Nolan as a policeman, but Nolan does well to keep the focus on the central trio for most of the runtime.

If you like the films of Christopher Nolan, and most people do, then you should find enough here to interest you. It's fascinating to see how his cine-literacy and talent shine through, despite working with the kind of budget that would now barely cover a week of catering on one of his major productions. He made a British crime film in the late 1990s that somehow, for better or worse, doesn't feel like a British crime film from the late 1990s. That's quite impressive. Even if every subsequent film has allowed him to earn enough success to completely overshadow this humble starting point.

7/10

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