Rent Following (1998)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Curiosity develops into voyeuristic fixation as a young writer Bill (Jeremy Theobald) follows strangers around London to research a novel. After following Cobb (Alex Haw), a well-heeled stranger who is actually a thief, Bill's obsession takes a sinister turn as he is led into a dark underworld.
- Actors:
- Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell, John Nolan, Dick Bradsell, Gillian El-Kadi, Jennifer Angel, Nicolas Carlotti, Darren Ormandy, Guy Greenway, Tassos Stevens, Tristan Martin, Rebecca James, Paul Mason, David Bovill, John Bengue, Ivan Cornell, Jane Hunter, Matthew Jones, David Julyan
- Directors:
- Christopher Nolan
- Writers:
- Christopher Nolan
- Studio:
- Momentum
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 23/06/2003
- Run Time:
- 70 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 2.0
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- Bonus:
- Commentary by director Christopher Nolan
- Second angle showing director's shooting script ability to restructure the story chronologically
- Cast and crew biographies
- Theatrical trailer
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Reviews (3) of Following
Excellent - highly recommended. - Following review by RP
Never mind low budget, this is a 'no budget' film (well, £3,000) written and directed by Christopher Nolan in his student days. The same Christopher Nolan who went on to fame and fortune as the director of 'Memento', 'The Prestige', 'Inception', the 'Dark Knight' Batman trilogy, 'Man of Steel' etc.
It is excellent - really, really good despite the almost non-existent budget, using fellow students at UCL as actors, and shot on a 16mm wind-up Bolex camera. It already shows a maturity of direction and the use of a non-linear storyline that Nolan deploys in later films.
It tells the story of an unemployed young would-be writer who follows strangers in the hope that they will give him ideas for a novel. He allows himself to get too close to one, who involves him in a world of burglary. But he is (of course) being set up as a patsy...
This is perhaps the best film I have seen recently - well directed, well photographed, tightly written, well acted. Oh yes, and it's gripping.
Excellent - 5/5 stars. Highly recommended.
Interesting and well worth watching - Following review by Plastic Teaspoon
The plot is a little contrived, but that is not such a big deal for a neo noir. Many noirs had much more contrived plots but were still great films. For such an extreme low budget film the quality of the final product is remarkable.
The storyline is patched together out of sequence and you do have to be on your toes to figure out what is going on. Well worth making the effort to do so though.
Arty - Following review by JD
The worst thing about this film is the acting. Never good sometimes appalling. The best is the plot, building slowly through the eyes of a strange author (you think at first that he is just a creepy voyeur but it develops, have patience). The direction is good; that is what alerted me to the film, but I wouldn't say amazing. It is non-linear but that is about all. It is a B&W film with great lighting and photography. Overall a bit arty and definitely not main stream, but interesting.