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Following (DVD)
by GentleGenius
RELEASED: 1998, Cert. 15
RUNNING TIME: Approx. 69 mins
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: Christopher Nolan
PRODUCERS: Christopher Nolan, Jeremy Theobald & Emma Thomas
MUSIC: David Julyan
MAIN CAST:-
Jeremy Theobald as the writer man, billed as The Young Man
Alex Haw as ... Cobb
Lucy Russell as the blonde woman, billed as The Blonde Woman
John Nolan as the policeman
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FILM ONLY REVIEW
Unemployed writer, The Young Man, develops an interest for following random strangers around, partly because he feels it may give him something to write about, and partly because he is interested in where they go and what they get up to.
One day, The Young Man chooses to follow Cob, a smartly dressed lounge-lizard type. Cob notices he is being followed, so introduces himself to The Young Man, declaring that he is a burglar and extending an invitation to The Young Man to assist him.
Cobb isn't a run-of-the-mill type of burglar, in that he isn't particularly interested in stealing anything, although he does. He is more interested in studying items in people's houses....personal effects such as their underwear, the contents of memento boxes, photos, letters etc. Whatever he removes from the houses, he insists is designed to make the victims re-think their lives from the aspect of loss, in that if they are suddenly missing something important, it tests their sense of value of the things they hold close.
Still very much under Cob's thumb, but also wanting to see if he is capable of rifling a few houses on his own, The Young Man strikes up a relationship with a woman whose house he and Cob had recently burgled.....then, things get out of hand as a few surprises are in store for him.
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Following is shot in black and white, mostly on the streets of London, obviously being a very low budget film. It is also short, lasting only 69 minutes.
From the outset, Following is much more like a play than a film, being created in almost borderline art noir style. At first, the acting is very much in method style, but becomes more staged as the film progresses.
I found The Young Man quite an intriguing character, in that he seems to be nervous, hesitant and shy, yet he is capable of quietly asserting himself when called for, plus he does have the gall to follow total strangers, putting himself at risk of all sorts should what he is doing be noticed....he is aware of this, and although it worries him, it is part of the thrill.
As far as the acting is concerned, I felt that Jeremy Theobald as The Young Man was the best of the bunch, as he came across far more naturally, hence more believable than Alex Haw and Lucy Russell as Cob and The Blonde Woman respectively. Cob's character I found to be a little too 'neat', and I felt that Lucy Russell was unsuccessfully aiming for a Marilyn Monroe lookalike and talk-alike....Russell did imitate a lot of Monroe's body language, facial expressions and even her voice to a degree. I'm not sure if that was what the director/producers wanted, or whether Russell simply fancied herself as a second Norma Jean.
To me, the idea of this film is quite interesting, in that it homes in on the psychology of the particular type of burglaries that Cob likes to indulge in, but there are lengthy stretches which I found a bit tedious. The dialogue is mainly ordinary conversation, coming across to me as superficial and dull. I'd have liked to see a bit more spark in the script as that would have gone a long way towards holding my attention more closely.
It did take me a little while to sort out the framework and dynamics of Following in my head, as it is presented in what I can only call triple flashback mode, which isn't immediately obvious...hence causing a bit of confusion until realisation dawns. What I mean by triple flashback mode, is that some of the story is acted out in the present, and some from three different points in the recent past. These differing time scales are put across seamlessly - which is a good thing - but in such a way that it isn't at first easy to understand what is going on.
The music is tasteful, laid-back and non-intrusive, largely being comprised of little electronic noises which are tuneful here and there....I want to put a genre to the music, but am unable to. It does suit the mood of the film though, and has that cold-ish edge to it which befits the late 1990s atmosphere and setting.
Although I can appreciate that Following is a valiant, and maybe commendable effort at creating a low-budget film which is a little out of the ordinary, maybe even artistic, I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. As said above, I found some stretches boring, where nothing of interest seemed to be happening. The film felt far longer than 69 minutes, and I'm not sure what could have been changed in order to create a more gripping atmosphere. I detect (perhaps mistakenly) that Following was an attempt at creating something 'Hitchcockian', but the outcome unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. I also found the relationship between The Young Man and Cob a bit too 'tidy' in that Cob so easily managed to lure The Young Man into his strange burglary game....although The Young Man largely appears to be of malleable character, I'm not sure that in real life somebody could so easily be influenced. Perhaps that part of the film needs to be expanded out a bit more, because as it currently stands, it feels as though something is missing.
Following does have a lot of potential in that it is a reasonably original idea, but the lacklustre presentation makes the film drag in parts, to the point where it becomes difficult to focus on and continue with. All of the basics are there for a really interesting, fascinating storyline, but for me such didn't hit the spot as it is a very laid-back film on a topic that really needs to be delivered with more punch. However, the ending is quite good....so that may be worth hanging on in there for.
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At the time of writing, Following can be purchased on Amazon as follows:-
New: from £24.50 to £45.45
Used: from £9.49 to £18.50
Some items on Amazon are available for free delivery within the UK, but where this doesn't apply, a £1.26 charge should be added to the above figures.
Thanks for reading!
~~ Also published on Ciao under my CelticSoulSister user name ~~
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21 & Over (DVD)
by xmum2threex
After enjoying the Hangover film with my husband we decided to go and watch 21 & over. It has the same screen writers as the hit film, and so we thought we may enjoy it. I have to admit this genre is not really my type of thing so I was not expecting much from it, but it managed to be even worse than expected. ...
**Plot**
When Straight-A college student Jeff Chang's turns 21 of course his two best friends take him out to celebrate his 21st birthday. The problem is his birthday falls the night before an important medical school interview. What is supposed to be a quick beer to celebrate coming of age turns into chaos. Jeff Chang soon passes out from too much alcohol and finds himself being carried around by his two friends trying to get him home before the 7am deadline. The only problem is they have no clue where he lives. Will he ever make it to his interview to please his overbearing father?
**Opinion**
First off does the story sound familiar? It is basically the storyline of hangover all over again but they have just made the main characters college students rather than adults. This from the start was very off putting as you can guess what is going to happen from the beginning. There are no plot twists, no interesting characters and nothing to make it stand out from just another college movie. Drinking, sex and drink ping pong games are all present in the film, but that makes it lack originality. Then you have the stereo typical over achieving son that just wants to please his father at any costs. Generations of his family have all graduated and become doctors, so he feels he HAS to follow in their footsteps. That mixed with the happenings of any other College movie just made me yawn all the way through the film.
The crude humour may appeal to some but to me it was just over the top and cringe worthy at times. My husband did laugh a little more than I did, but considering with these types of films he usually turns into a childish school boy, even his lack of enthusiasm proves how much it is lacking Then of course you have the geeky guy trying to get the hot girl. She is with the popular footballer and I bet you can guess how it all ends?
From start to finish the stereotypes are just one after another which again makes it predictable. The only thing that even makes this film slightly likable is the characters. The actors are not ones that I know but you can see that they try hard to carry the film. There acting is consistent throughout despite being given a useless story that has been done over and over again. I am not sure the film is any worse than others with the same theme, but because it has been done so many times before it is just tiresome. I just think this genre has already been milked to the limit.
Justin Chon plays the part of Jeff Chang and while I thought he was going to be a main character, after the first twenty minutes he actually has a tiny role as he is passed out being carried around by his friends. This leaves Miles Teller as Miller and Skylar Astin as Casey to carry the film. There are other characters that feature a lot, but these two are by far the main characters. Miller is your typical party animal that just wants to get drunk and have fun, while Casey is the sensible friend that has his head screwed on, but still wants to enjoy himself along the way.
The stunts in the film are funny at times more of a shock factor and a giggle but soon forgotten. It is rated 15 which I think is fair. There is a lot of swearing, crude jokes and some sexual content. There is nothing overly shocking that made me think this rating was wrong, and I am sure it would probably appeal to older teenagers a lot more than it did to me. Music is punchy and fitting with scenes but again it is forgettable. It helps set the scenes, but as that tends to be generally a lets party theme it is not a film that relies on its music to set the mood or pace. There is nothing high budget about the film, the settings are mainly on a college campus and other than a few stunts there is nothing overly amazing.
**Summary**
It runs for a whole 90 minutes which seems like a lifetime with basically drunk people just acting silly. With crude humour and a whole lot of how did that happen situations we follow three students around trying to find their way home. If you enjoy typical American high school films like American pie, Project X or other comedies like the hangover you may enjoy this. While the storyline is tired, jokes poor and predictable characters it is a light watch. It could probably be enjoyed on a night in with friends but there is no way I would watch the film again. It is an OK film to pass a few hours in the evening and it could be OK for a one time watch. As you can probably tell this is not a film I really enjoyed, but if this genre is your type of movie you may enjoy it more than I did.
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