Analysis of Following Short Film by Christopher Nolan

Following is a low budget neo-noir short film, the first of Christopher Nolan, in which the unnamed
narrator, an aspiring writer looks for inspirational characters, following people around the city. He
eventually finds a man named Cobb who breaks in to strangers flats, but doesnt steal anything. The two
break in to a strangers flat, and Cobb teaches our narrator the reasons behind doing it. Nolans ideology is
about people getting the taste for destruction and people who are easily lead; represented in another of
representation theories in film. One of these includes youth; these young people are destructive and cause
havoc to society, following Hebriges belief that in film the youth are represented to threaten society.
Another would be Raymond Williams on class, stating that he believed you can recognise types of class,
which he called notions of community. This is part of what I believe fed Nolans ideology in this film, as
Cobb, the character, talks about recognising different classes as he breaks in to peoples flats. Cobb
believes he can recognise the class of characters simply by looking at their home and their belongings. The
film also supports the Genre Theory of auteurism, the theory that filmmaker allows his beliefs, whether it
be a political or social ideology, as well as his creative methods, to be embedded in his or her work and for
there to be a clear relation in that work. This and Nolans other projects are strongly psychologically based,
as well as his creative methods shine through similarly in all his work.

While the two are drinking the strangers wine, Rembrandt
Style side lighting is used on Cobbs face. Half of his face is dark,
while the other half is light. This is used by the director to
confuse the viewer into being unsure whether he is a dark
character and whether to trust him, making us neither side with
Cobb nor turn against him. The Rembrandt Style side lighting
also reflects the mood of our narrator, as he at this point in the
film, is also unsure whether to trust him.
As the narrator leaves the home when the home owners come
in, the narrator steps into very low key lighting. This is
something I think the director has chosen on purpose, as it
suggests that he has been affected by the strange teachings of the character of Cobb, and his character is a
darker one than he was when first entered the flat. This
represents Nolans ideology of how people are easily lead in
to darkness, and how the youth can be destructive,
supporting Hebriges theory. Hebrige came up with two
theories on youth in film: 1) they are destructive or 2) they
feel a need to belong. The first short film I analyse in
Michael Ceras Failure supports Hebriges second theory,
while this analysis supports the first one. So far, this proves
his theory correct.
When Cobb speaks to our narrator, he describes the class of
the people who live there; his intention not to steal
anything. When they eventually come home, the casting for the characters fits the description Cobb gives.
Nolan here is feeding us his ideology which supports Williams class theory, of the notions of community.

When the home owners return and the two characters make a sharp exit to avoid trouble, the edits are
shorter. This creates a contrast to earlier in the scene when the characters were calmly talking, the edits
therefore mirroring our narrators panic. This also helps the audience to worry about the character that we
have grown with throughout the film.

As they enter the flat, non-diegetic music is used for effect. It is a fast paced beating sound. This has been
used to reflect the nerves of our narrator, the fast beating music acting as his heartbeat. The sound is also
used when the home owners come home and find the two in the apartment. This has been used to help
the viewer identify the panic of our narrator, also making the viewer tense as we care about him.
The fast paced music also matches the ideology of the film, and the thoughts of the interesting character of
Cobb. The beat mirrors Cobbs quote I do what I do for the adrenaline, as the beat is full of adrenaline.
This has been done by the director to help the viewer realise the ideology of doing what gives you pleasure
and stands for Hebriges belief that the youth threaten society.
As they enter the flat and have their first look around, a non-diegetic screeching sound is played. The
discordant sound aImost sounds like something breaking or being overpowered, suggesting the the idea of
destruction, therefore mirroring the films ideology of how destruction can be fun, which the characters in
this text do through destroying peoples lives and their homes. The non-diegetic screeching sound is also
part of Nolan being an auteur, as this effective tension building sound is used in his film The Dark Knight.
In both films the sound has been used in a scene where a psychopath or sociopath has been committing
crime. In The Dark Knight, it was The Joker, while in this film, it was Cobb.

The handheld camera used when they enter the flat is shaky and unsteady. This not only represents our
narrators nerves, but shows the destruction that the two breaking in to the flat are causing; the unsteady
camera mirroring the crime and destruction. This represents Nolans ideology of destruction, which
supports Hebriges belief that youth in film can threaten society.