Theobald eventually makes the mistake of becoming involved with the blonde (Lucy Russell), a victim of one of his own burglaries. This is when the net begins to close on him and “Following” turns back-and-forth on itself with fiendish cleverness. “Following” has splashes of humor, as the burglars sniff panties or pretend to be real estate agents when they’re caught in someone’s apartment. But it plays straight and gritty, beginning with handheld camerawork just as shaky as Theobald’s grip on life, and then shifting, almost unnoticeably, into smoother shots, now that we have been inducted into his mind. Even while grinningly incorporating the classic noir elements of the deceptive blonde and the omnipotent crime boss, “Following’s” overall tone is not “ironic” or an “in-joke.” Its often wasted and despondent urban locations defy trivialization.
Enthusiasts of Nolan’s later films will recognize some of his recurrent themes and images, including “Following’s” nonlinear architecture. Three storylines compete and overlap in the course of “Following,” and, as in “Memento,” we often witness causes after effects. Far from being a distraction or a gimmick, this structure allows the audience to follow Theobald’s mind rather than a simple chain of events. Nolan has been quoted as saying that we hear stories in real-life told not linearly, but by expanding in all directions, so why shouldn’t a movie be told in the same way? Lazy audiences may not want to put forth the effort of assembling the puzzle, but lazy audiences will probably only be interested in who did what, and not in “Following’s” subtext.
The story behind the making of “Following” is almost as interesting as the movie itself. “Following” cost a grand total of $6,000 to make; the movie was originally released without a rating because paying the MPAA for an R would double or maybe even triple its cost. The actors and crew are one in the same, the sets are their real homes, the clothes are their own, and the police detective is the director’s uncle. “Following” was filmed over the course of a year entirely on Saturdays, using a cast and crew that could fit in one taxi, and used film that was purchased one reel at a time. To conserve celluloid no scene took more than two takes. Yet “Following’s” minimal budget is hardly noticeable. The acting, writing, and camerawork are that strong, and the synthesized score of ambient strings by David Julyan (who has followed Nolan to “Memento” and “Insomnia”) is more appropriate than an orchestra or a collection of pop hits. The film’s grainy black-and-white look fits a “seedy underbelly” better than color. Because we never remember things as clearly as they happened, black-and-white seems to be the better choice for movies focusing on the subjective viewpoint.
Perhaps in an attempt to be fiendishly clever myself I have bided my time before mentioning “Following’s” $6,000 budget. Were you, the reader, intrigued by my description of “Following,” only to discover there would be no explosions, no car chases, and no choreographed fistfight between stuntmen? With near-infinite resources big-budget movies should have near-infinite capabilities, but they seldom do. More often than not they play dumb and they play safe. Low-budget films are daring because they function without the safety nets of large casts, special effects, and infinite takes; for “Following” Nolan was forced to resourcefulness out of necessity. It’s true that I’ve seen enough low-budget films to know that many of them are little better than home movies. But I am always intrigued to learn what someone could do without a computer expensive enough to do it for him.
P.S. Like Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” (1945) I saw “Following” at a museum in a series devoted to the use of psychoanalysis in film. I cannot stress enough how even the casual movie-lover’s horizons can be expanded if she searches the newspaper or the internet for what’s playing at local museums, universities, repertory theaters, or film revivals. The big screen, not the video store, is the best place to enjoy lesser-known or older films, and venues like the museum are likely to have something extra, like a guest speaker, to promote discussion afterwards.
P.P.S. The definition of irony: one of the sets that actors Jeremy Theobald and Alex Haw rob during “Following” was robbed in real-life afterwards. Consequently, objects which Theobald should have in his possession of mementos at home are missing because they were, well, stolen.
Finished July 1, 2002
Copyright 2002 Friday & Saturday Night