Before we begin though there will be some rules for these articles. We will be looking at the directors first full-length feature film so this means no shorts, no episodes of TV shows, no co-director works unless the film credits both directors in the director slot, no lost films that are impossible to watch in full, and we will not be counting their non-directing debuts. TV movies are allowed to be factored though. For this second entry we are going to focus on one of the most popular directors of the 21st century,Christopher Nolan and his debut film Following.
Theatrical Poster | Copyright Momentum Pictures 1998
Born in London England, Nolan first broke up out to the public with his 2000 film,Momento. This thriller dealing with amenesia saw huge acclaim due to its gritty tone and unquie filming style. Critics saw Nolan as a grittier Hitchcock. He would then be recommended by fellow filmaker,Steven Soderburgh to direct a remake of the Norse thriller,Insomnia for Warner bros. The film did well and was well received and is seen today as the black sheep in Nolan's filmography due to being more conventional than his usual works. After cancelling his,Howard Hughes biopic (due to Scoresse making one) and turning down directing Troy,Nolan would release a film that would really break him into the mainstream. In 2005 he directed the massive block buster hit,Batman Begins, a reboot of the Batman franchise that took the franchise(on screen at least) into a more grounded and gritty direction. While darker super hero movies with starting to become a thing with Blade and the X men films having a gothic inspired look, and with older movies like the Crow,Darkman and even the Burton Batman films predicting this trend,Batman Begins was really when it was starting to take form as it adapted a superhero property into a grounded thriller instead of fantasy,a style DC would later try to replicate to diminishing returns for the longest time. After directing another well received film with The Prestige, Nolan would direct the film that made him a house hold name, 2008's The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight would go on be one of the biggest and most acclaimed super hero films of all time,make Christain Bale's portrayal of Batman and the late Heath Ledger's portayal of The Joker iconic roles as well as along with Iron Man, supercharged superhero films into the biggest box office draws for many years.
His next film Inception would also be a massive hit and would normally be credited(and critized) for creating the stererotypical and at times rather anoyying Nolan super fan. This is also the film that comes up when his style of filmalking is talked about as it's the perfect example of his tropes. Nolan from the on would continue to have blockbuster success with his films going forward but would never sacrifice his intergirty. In 2023 he won his first best picture Oscar for his film Oppenheimer,2024 he was knighted and just recently his current film The Odessey become his highest grossing film and landed him the rank of the third highest grossing director of all time right behind Stephen Speilberg and James Cameron. But there was a time where he was just an indie British filmaker trying to make a name for him self. A time where his only full length film was a little known neo-noir called Following.
Following is a British film released in 1998. The story is about an unemployed aspiring writer who goes around following strangers to help get ideas for his writing. This activity starts out pretty innocent until our protagonist crosses path with a mysterious stranger that draws him into the criminal underworld. The story was inspired by a real robbery that happened in England. From this earily on Nolan was showing off several elements of what would become his signature style. These elements include being shot out of order,heavy reliance on score,as well as moral grey characters(pun maybe intended),and fragmented identity. The film it self is very surreal even when compared to his usual works and you can see forshadowing of elements of plot points from Memento,Inception and the Prestige. While it can feel dull at times,this picture is worth a peak for those who were curious as it does get pretty tense at moments and is very hard R rated,something that was common in his very earily days,but would not return until his two latest films Oppenheimer and Odyessy.It is also the only British full length film he made before going to Hollywood. While this is may not be the out of the gate masterpiece of a first attempt at Duel, the last film we covered, it's still worth your time and is a good example of the man's earily style back when he was more of a neo-noir/thriller director before he went onto make blockbusters.
I give this film 3 stars within stars within stars out of 5.
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