Written by James Bunn

While El Mariachi and Primer showed the potential of what American independent cinema had to offer, no-budget filmmaking has proven to lack any territorial boundaries. The late 90s would see the emergence of a gifted young filmmaker from the United Kingdom, who would eventually become one of the most critically and commercially successful artists of the twenty first century. Before dazzling audiences with big budget arthouse blockbusters, Christopher Nolan would impress critics and the festival circuit alike, with his 1998 debut Following. This tightly scripted crime thriller would be a swiftly executed introduction to Nolan’s unique brand of non-linear storytelling. With a production budget of six thousand dollars, lower than the legendary figure of seven thousand used by Rodriguez and Carruth, Nolan would serve as writer, director, co-producer, cinematographer, and co-editor.

SYNOPSIS

Following is the story of a young writer living in London, who follows strangers in hopes of using their lives as inspiration for characters in his novels. Starting as an innocent hobby, the practice devolves into an unhealthy obsession leading to a life of petty crime and a loss of identity.

BACKGROUND

Nolan’s filmmaking journey began at the age of seven, borrowing his father’s Super 8 Camera to make stop motion animations with his action figures. In his 20’s, he would earn a degree in literature at University College, London. UCL had a film society that Nolan would affiliate himself with and use their equipment to produce three self-financed shorts — Tarantella (1989), Larceny (1996), and Doodlebug (1997). Both Larceny and Doodlebug featured future Following lead Jeremy Theobald and production assistance from Nolan’s then-girlfriend-now-wife Emma Thomas. Nolan’s first attempt at a debut feature, titled Larry Mahoney, was abandoned due to technical difficulties. Due to limited funding opportunities and an overall lack of support from the British film industry in general, Nolan was forced to go the no-budget route and pay for his feature length debut out of his own pocket.

CONCEPTION

The inspiration behind Following was birthed out of two simple, yet effective, happenings in Nolan’s personal life. The first being general life in his crowded London neighborhood. The idea of picking out random strangers with a curiosity as to what their story was, helped shape the main character's initial intentions for his actions. The second, was the burglary of his own apartment. The question of why someone would go against social protocol and violate one's right to privacy, helped shape the main plot and character development.

FINANCING

Nolan established his six thousand dollar budget with his salary working in corporate video and industrial film.

EQUIPMENT

The primary camera used was an Ariflex 16bl, with a Bolex 16mm used for some scenes shot in the streets. There is no available information on what specific brand or type of film was used, other than the fact it was shot using Black and White 16mm stock. There is also no specific information on how sound was recorded, though Nolan kept as much location sound as he could. Lighting was handled by whatever natural lighting was found at each shooting location.

PRE-PRODUCTION

Despite the decision to present the film in a non-linear structure from the very beginning, Nolan wrote the screenplay in chronological order, then went back to rearrange it — a practice better suited for the editing phase as opposed to the writing stage. The cast would include previous collaborator Jeremy Theobald in the lead role, amateur actors Alex Haw and Lucy Russell in supporting roles, with John Nolan — Nolan’s uncle and veteran British film and television actor and notable British bartender Dick Bradsell in minor roles. Rehearsal for the film took about six month, in a similar manner that a theatre company would prepare a stage performance. With everyone knowing the entire film by memory, Nolan could call out any scene and everyone would be prepared to execute in one take. Emma Thomas took up a role as producer, as she had done with his previous two shorts, as did lead actor Jeremy Theobald.

PRODUCTION

Principal photography took place over the period of a year. With everyone working day jobs during the week, the crew would meet on Saturdays and shoot roughly fifteen minutes of footage each session. A shooting ratio of 2:1 was implemented, with the majority of results being captured in one take. Filming locations would ultimately include the crew's own apartments, friends' restaurants, Nolan’s parents home, and outside in the streets of London. The decision to shoot in black and white not only contributed to the overall aesthetic of the film, but also helped avoid the difficulties that can arise with shooting in color. Nolan also opted to shoot the majority of the film handheld to give it a “newsreel” feel.

POST-PRODUCTION

Details surrounding post production are unfortunately scarce. The first cut of Following was done on videotape, then touched up and finalized in AVID by co-editor Gareth Heal. After being accepted in its first festival, Nolan and crew sought out investors to aid in preparing a 16mm film print for proper screening. The musical score was composed by David Julyan, in his feature length debut. He previously collaborated with Nolan on his shorts Larceny and Doodlebug and would work with him again on Memento, Insomnia, and The Prestige.

RESULTS

The final cut of Following resulted in a thrilling mini masterclass in neo-noir, clocking in at a lean seventy minutes. It has all the traits that would become staples in Nolan’s future works — non-linear structure, unreliable narrators, men in suits, etc. From the opening voice over to the final frames, the picture ebbs and flows effortlessly, never feeling rushed despite its minuscule runtime. The non-linear framework enhances it’s noir aesthetic while simultaneously testing the viewer's patience, leaving questions unanswered long enough to warrant full attention. The chemistry and natural grace shown by the cast makes it easy to forget that it’s everyone’s first feature. Though Nolan would obviously move on to make bigger and better pictures, the mastery shown in Following is proof that creativity will never be limited by lack of resources.

DISTRIBUTION

Following had a strong festival run in late 1998 through 1999, which resulted in winning the Special Jury prize at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema, the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the Best Director award at the Newport International Film Festival, and the Ilford Award for best black and white film at Slamdance. It was also screened in the Discover Program at The Toronto International Film Festival. Next Wave Films, a now-defunct predecessor of IFC Films, acquired the film and supervised a 35mm blow up, while Zeitgeist films would ultimately acquire the rights to release it theatrically.

RELEASE AND AFTERMATH

Released in US domestic territories in the spring of 1999, Following would make just short of fifty thousand dollars at the box office, with a home media release by Sony Home Entertainment in 2001. Nolan followed up with his sophomore tour de force, Memento. Often hailed as one of the best films of the early 2000’s (and to some all time), the film expanded greatly on his unique brand of non-linear neo-noir established in his debut. The success of Memento led to his involvement in 2002’s Insomnia, based on a 1997 Norwegian film of the same name and the only film Nolan had no hand in writing, resulting in a long standing relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures. Warner would then give Nolan the task of adapting the gargantuan Intellectual property that is Batman. The fruits of his labor spawned The Dark Knight Trilogy — Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), starring Christian Bale in the titular role and amassing almost two nad a half million dollars at the box office. The success of this trilogy, particularly in the case of The Dark Knight, gave Nolan enough clout to make whatever he wanted with little to no studio interference.

Other films in his catalogue include The Prestige (2006), based on the 1995 novel of the same name, original high concept blockbusters Inception (2010), Interstellar (2015) and Tenet (2020), and the war film Dunkirk (2017), based on The Battle of Dunkirk during World War II. After a falling out With Warner Bros. over the day and date release of Tenet, Nolan announced he would be working with Universal Pictures for his next feature. In October 2021, Nolan announced his next project Oppenheimer, a biopic based on J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in developing the atom bomb, slated for release in the summer of 2023. Despite his ever growing success, Nolan proved he never forgot where he came from, when he supervised a new restoration of Following in collaboration with The Criterion Collection, released in 2012.

REFERENCES:

1. Following. Retrieved from https://www.nextwavefilms.com/following/index.html

2. “Following (1999)”. Box Office Mojo. IMDB.com, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl106071553/weekend/

3. Jean, Nathalie (2013, December 30). 34 Things Christopher Nolan Shared About Making His First Feature and Learning From It. Retrieved from https://www.mentorless.com/2013/12/30/34-things-christopher-nolan-shared-about-making-his-first-feature-film/

4. McCarthy, Erin (2012, November 28). Director Christopher Nolan Discusses Making His First Film, Following. Retrieved from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31628/director-christopher-nolan-discusses-making-his-first-film-following

James Bunn is a content creator with a passion for 70's cinema, low budget indie flicks and the filmmaking process. He hopes to, one day, transition from appreciating films to making his own. He currently releases music under the alias Boutique Paul and is a host, composer, and sound engineer for The K Cut & Prefer Not To Say Podcast.

Guerilla Filmfare: Following