Christopher Nolan is one of the top, if not THE top, working directors in the world today. His films are the best at mixing both quality and mainstream appeal, which results in great box office numbers and critical acclaim. His first film came out in 1998, titled Following. It's about a struggling writer who begins to follow people at random to document their movements. There is more to the story than just that brief description, so why should I ruin it? I won't.
What I WILL do is name some ways that this debut film for Nolan foreshadows the works that will come from this brilliant filmmaker.
1. "My name's Cobb" - This is very easy to figure out. In Following, one of the characters is named Cobb. Anyone who knows anything about films from Nolan knows that Cobb is the name of Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Inception (2010).
2. Playing with timelines - Chris Nolan has become famous for non-linear storytelling. However, it seems he does it in different ways in many of his movies. What he did in Following is similar to what he did in The Prestige (2006). In both these films, many scenes took place in different timelines, which meant that we, as an audience, had to put together the puzzle. It's so satisfying when the pieces start to really fit together.
3. Batman - That must have been a coincidence. There is one scene where the two main characters go up to an apartment and on the door, lo and behold, a sticker with the Batman logo on it. Of course, Nolan went on to make his amazingly successful Dark Knight trilogy (Batman Begins in 2005, The Dark Knight in 2008, and The Dark Knight Rises in 2012), acclaimed by most as the best Batman movies. I'm sure that in the late 90s, Nolan didn't know he'd be tabbed to make these movies. But this is sure something fun to point out and talk about!
4. Neo noir - This is another easy one. Following is a neo-noir film and so is his follow up film, Memento (2000). Both are of dark tendencies and unease, with endings that are a little discomforting.
5. John Nolan appearances - The director's uncle, John Nolan, appears in the beginning and in the end of Following. This detail foreshadows what he did in Dunkirk (2017) when John Nolan appeared as a blind man welcoming the surviving soldiers. He also made appearances in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises.
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