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FollowingRating:
Release Date: 01 April, 2003 Retail Price: $9.95 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (9 total) |
Following Reviews
You'll Need To Pay Attention With This One. It's Worth It.
Following is the one of the cleverest, smartest, toughest psychological thrillers since...well...since Memento. Bill (Jeremy Theobald) is an unsuccessful wannabe writer. "I've been on my own for a while," he tells an older man at the beginning of the movie, "and getting kind of lonely...and bored...nothing to do all day. And that's when I started shadowing." Bill will pick out a person and spend the day secretly following them around, seeing what they do and who they meet, what their lives are like. Fate, or something more sinister, takes a hand when he follows Cobb (Alex Haw) one day...and Cobb confronts him in a cafe. Cobb is about Bill's age, but he's smart and assured. And a thief. He breaks into people's flats and takes things, not just for the money. He convinces Bill, almost in a seduction, to follow him around while he does this. Bill is torn between fascination and unease, and fascination wins. Cobb explains to him that "interrupting someone's life is what it's all about. Making them see all the things they take for granted." One night Bill meets an attractive blond (Lucy Russell) in a nightclub owned by her boyfriend, an older, ruthless criminal who deals in drugs and pornography. As their relationship develops, so does his relationship with Cobb. Cobb may not be the best guy around to trust. Maybe not Lucy, either.
You might think the movie is a linear neo-noir until you realize that while some scenes are not in a linear context, they still provide clues to what's happening to Bill. In one scene he may be scruffy. In another scene more-or-less well groomed. He may have a bruise the size of a fist on his cheek with a white rubber glove stuffed in his mouth; in the next scene, no bruise, no glove. The scenes aren't in any chronological context, but they aren't random, either. They're great as a way to cleverly capture your attention and to make you suspicious of what you're seeing and of what seems to be happening. We realize Bill's story is a lot more complicated than we think, and that Bill's version doesn't seem likely to be the only version. The conclusion makes absolute sense when we look back at everything, and it is totally unexpected.
Nolan, who made Memento three years after Following, is a master at cleverly moving around pieces of a puzzle. If Memento was close to being a masterpiece of indirection, Following shows Memento wasn't a lucky one-shot. The movie, according to IMDb, was shot on a budget of about $6,000 on weekends. The cast and crew were friends, coworkers and relatives. It doesn't look like the work of amateurs at all. This is a fully professional film. The cast, incidentally, does an outstanding job. Only Russell seems to have gone on to a professional acting career. Theobald captures the feel of a person who doesn't just follow, but is essentially a follower. And Alex Haw as Cobb brings to the role all the competent, assured superciliousness of a young Rupert Everett, and that's intended as a compliment.
The movie was shot full frame and the DVD transfer looks just fine. There are a number of extras that fans of Nolan will most likely find of interest, including a Nolan commentary. For people who can't stand puzzles, one of the extras includes the ability to restructure the story chronologically.
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This Movie Is Written From The Same Director That Gave All Of Us The Unbelievable Movie "Memento", A Cult Legend In Itself. If You Enjoyed Memento, Stop Reading This Review And Go Buy Yourself A Copy Of This Movie 'ASAP'. Now That Is Said, Here's The Review. This Movie Is So Smart And Sophisticated! It's A Shifty, Paranoid, Devilishly Clever, Sleek, Taut, Exquisite, Startling, With An Eerie Intensity, That Will Leave You Wanting More. These Are What Movies Are Supposed To Be Like. Director Christopher Nolan Shows The World How Movies Are Supposed To Be Directed. You Will Have To Put Your Thinking Hats On For This One Though, It's Not For Your Mainstream Movie Watchers. This One Will Need To Be Watched Several Times To Put The Whole Story Together (Like Memento, The More You Watch This, The More You Will See The Whole Picture). Just Remember After Watching This Movie "Your Never Alone". Following Is A Wickedly Clever Story Of How A Young Man's Obsession With Following People Leads Him Into A Dark Underworld. Bill, The Unlikely Hero, Is A Marginalized But Intriguing Everyday Man Who Follows Strangers At Random On The Street. When Cobb, A Man Bill Has Been Following, Catches Him In The Act, Bill Is Drawn Into Cobb's World Of Breaking Into Flats And Prying Into The Personal Lives Of Their Victims. In Cobb, Bill Finds A Strange Companion (Part Mentor, Part Confessor And Part Evil Twin). With An Ingenious Structure That Involves Flash Forwards And Doubling Back, The Film Tests Our Knowledge And Understanding Just As The Protagionist Is Being Duped Into An Elaborate Triple-Cross (And What A Triple-Cross That Will Leave Your Jaw Hitting The Ground). This Movie Is Intriguing.... It Sucks You Into Its Conceit With An Ease, You Won't Be Able To Leave Your T.V. Until The Very End, And Then You Will Already Want To Watch It Again. I Only Wish I Could Give This Movie More Stars Than 5. Honestly, I Think This Is Every Bit As Good As Memento, If Not Better.
This Movie Won :
* Winner Tiger Award @ The International Film Festival Of Rotterdam
* Official Selection @ Toronto International Film Festival
* Official Selection @ San Francisco International Film Festival
It's Special Features Include :
* Commentary By Director Christopher Nolan
* Second Angle Showing Director's Shooting Script
* Ability To Restructure The Story Chronologically (This Is Way Cool, How Many Movies Can You Piece Back Together To See It In The Chronologically Order, Instead Of The Flash Forwards And Doubling Back Effect).
* Digitally Mastered Audio & Video
* Audio: English 2.0 Dolby Stereo
* Subtitles: English, Spanish
* Theatrical Trailers
* Interactive Motion Menus
* Scene Selections
* Cast & Crew Biographies
More Customer Reviews (15 total)
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