17 September 2023

Review: Following

Blu-ray: Following (1998)

Released on Blu-ray in the UK for the first time, number 30 in 101 Films ‘Black Label’ series of releases presents Christopher Nolan’s debut feature film ‘Following‘.

A zero budget project shot for one day a week over the course of a year, Nolan has already established his penchant for delivering a narrative in a non-linear way.

An aspiring young writer (Jeremy Theobald) develops a voyeuristic fixation with following strangers without their knowledge. However, after following one man into a local cafe, he is confronted about following people and is then drawn into a dark and twisting world of burglary where nothing is as it first seems.

In what has become typical Nolan fashion with his movies, the non-linear narrative gives clues from both past and present as to how events will play out in the future, before then pulling the carpet from under your feet and leaving you wanting to watch it again to piece together this new found revelation at the end and to see how all the pieces fitted together.

Shot in black and white and giving a real sense of the grimy underbelly of London, Following drags you into its world and makes you feel almost as voyeuristic as the main character as you follow him following others.

Loaded with great special features, this is a must buy for your Nolan collection.

Special Features:

Brand new extras:

• Commentary with Actor Jeremy Theobald and Film Critic James Mottram

• Unfollow – Director Christopher Nolan on Following

• Dreamcatching – Producer Emma Thomas on Following

• Wandering – Actor Jeremy Theobald on Following

• The Blonde – Actor Lucy Russell on Following

• Backtracking – Editor Gareth Heal on Following

• Setting the Pace – Composer David Julyan on Following • Pay Attention – Jonathan Nolan on Following

• Following in their Footsteps – Actors Jeremy Theobald & Lucy Russell revisit exterior locations from Following

• Limited Edition Booklet: What’s in the box? Lifting the lid on Christopher Nolan’s debut Following by James Mottram and Lingering Shadows: A look at Christopher Nolan’s early neo-noir, Following by Andrew Graves.