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Following

Play trailer Poster for Following R 1998 1h 9m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
82% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Lacking prospects, a writer (Jeremy Theobald) begins tailing strangers, until he encounters a voyeuristic thief (Alex Haw).
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Following

Following

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Critics Consensus

Super brief but efficient, Following represents director Christopher Nolan's burgeoning talent in tight filmmaking and hard-edge noir.

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Critics Reviews

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Dennis Harvey Variety 03/26/2009
Entertaining, but material doesn't develop the full, edgy potential that similar paranoid-triangle efforts realized. Go to Full Review
Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle 06/25/2001
3/4
Audiences will walk out of the theater shocked to find that only 70 minutes have gone by. Go to Full Review
Diana Tuova Loud and Clear Reviews 11/12/2024
3.5/5
Following (1998) is an imperfect, but nonetheless brainy, existential take on film noir, which seems even more impressive considering its limited budget. Go to Full Review
David Parkinson Radio Times 08/22/2024
3/5
For all the deadpan delivery of a committed cast, this is ultimately a misfire, but a fascinating and unusual one nonetheless. Go to Full Review
Dimitris Passas PopMatters 11/28/2023
Following‘s short duration is a plus and adds to the suspense, while the plot revelations come at a measured pace, making each second of the film’s runtime count. Following is Nolan’s most underrated film and deserves wider recognition and praise. Go to Full Review
Akhil Arora AkhilArora.com 10/17/2023
Somewhat meta in how a film writer voyeuristically finds his stories, and in some ways, you can see Nolan trying to find himself. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jonathan S. @JonathanColeSpivey 1d Following (1998) is a pulp fiction neo noir crime film about a writer, The Young Man, who follows strangers for writing material in the broad day light, or into the darkness, of London. The young writer played by Jeremy Theobold eventually gets caught by Cobb (Alex Haw) a mad thief who toys with others properties and lives. He sometimes takes items and misplaces them and sets the owners up to become a wedge in relationships. Cobb lures The Young Man, a local inspiring writer, into his secret life of breaking and entering and theft. The Young Man trails him to construct his story. The Young Man comes across a tainted past from one of his trespasses, The Blond played by Lucy Russel. He begins to see her and spends time hearing her story. The Blond unveils her shadowy path when she confesses a crime she witnessed from an old psychotic boyfriend. She becomes an accomplice to a violent murderer which others in the underground can hang over her head. (Read review at Cole Spivey’s Facebook See more Townes D @RT25529920 1d It was incredible. When I started watching it I didnt know what I would think about but I loved. 10/10 DO recommend See more Tom F @RT55173143 Mar 2 Christopher Nolan on a tight budget and brief running time turns out to be just okay. See more Tyler S @tylerking24 Dec 1 I'll probably raise this after watching it a second time, but this was a cool way for Christopher Nolan to introduce himself to Hollywood. A pretty fascinating story that had me a little lost early, but it all got tied together by the end. Just like Nolan normally does. See more Ashtin K @RT01138635 Nov 2 The film is a black-and-white, 16mm masterclass in characterization, brisk storytelling and shot composition that will leave you thinking, “man, this Christopher Nolan guy knows how to make a movie”. See more Ray C @RT17651982 Oct 17 A twisty little thriller and an interesting part of Christopher Nolan's filmography. Following's budget is both its most impressive aspect as well as its biggest weakness. The fact that Nolan was able to make this for just $6,000 is incredible. However, there are some noticeable technical limitations, particularly in the audio quality. Despite its problems, the film is worth watching just to see how much he’s grown as a director. See more Read all reviews
Following

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Movie Info

Synopsis Lacking prospects, a writer (Jeremy Theobald) begins tailing strangers, until he encounters a voyeuristic thief (Alex Haw).
Director
Christopher Nolan
Producer
Christopher Nolan, Jeremy Theobald, Emma Thomas
Screenwriter
Christopher Nolan
Distributor
Zeitgeist Films, Columbia Tristar
Production Co
Next Wave Films
Rating
R (Some Violence|Language)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 2, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$47.9K
Runtime
1h 9m