Rent Following (1998)

Intriguing Drama - Following review by GI

Director Christopher Nolan's first feature is an intriguing film. Shot in pasty black and white it has the feel of a British 50s or early 60s drama and has the shifts in time in order to tell the story and keep the viewer hooked. A down on his luck aspiring writer (Jeremy Theobald) begins following strangers around the city in order to get material for characters in a project he wants to start. After awhile this becomes an obsession until a man he has been following rumbles him. This is Cobb (Alex Haw) who is a house burglar and takes the writer on his crimes and teaches him the tricks of the trades. One of their victims is a young woman (Lucy Russell) with whom the writer begins a relationship but is everyone who they say they are? The films structure is quite neat and compelling as you get hints of future events that are left unexplained until later in the story. It's well edited and acted throughout although most of the cast are unknowns. The seeds of Nolan's later epic films and his complex story structures are all here to see. If you're a fan of his films then this is one you should check out.

Remarkable - Following review by sb

FILM & REVIEW With Oppenheimer still on for my film of the year a rewatch of Nolan’s debut feature - and what an ingenious piece it is. In the classic Noir tradition we meet Bill (Theobald) explaining to a policeman how things ended up the way they did. He is a scruffy lonely wannabe writer who follows people through the streets of London just to find out what they do. His latest target Cobb (Haw) susses him but involves him in his low level burglaries-its not so much the stuff he steals it’s the insight into people’s lives he is interested in - which neatly ties in with Bills obsession. Bill also meets a mysterious blonde (Russell) who used to be involved with a violent gangster although claims it’s over. Then things get really complicated…. Made on a minimal budget and shot on grainy 16mm over several months it already has Nolan’s trademark non linear narrative -we see Bill scruffy with long greasy hair , then smarter in a suit then with a badly beaten face and the story weaves in and out of the timeline. Things that have no meaning take on greater significance later and it’s only towards the end that you realise what has really been going on. Excellent unknown cast with very sharp writing you can already see how Nolan has become the film maker he is - 4/5

Nolan definitely got better - Following review by AER

Christopher Nolan definitely got better at making films (to state the obvious). I've seen a lot of low-budget British indie films and this is MOR when compared to some gems out there. It's taken me a long time to come and seek out Following, I'm glad I've seen it. Great end twist aside this is let down by uncertain and flat performances from a game cast. A curio nonetheless but pretty poor. There were quantum leaps made in quality when compared to Nolan's next film, Memento.

How he got a shot in Hollywood based on Following is a mystery, as it really isn't anything special.

2 out of 10