There are some exceptions to that rule (Ari Aster’s Hereditary, Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket), but Nolan’s Following isn’t one of them.
No matter how talented or influential they are, a filmmaker’s first movie usually ends up being their worst. There are some exceptions to that rule (Ari Aster’s Hereditary, Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket), but Nolan’s Following isn’t one of them. Made with next-to-no money and shot entirely on 16mm film stock, Following is as rough-and-ready as it gets, but it lacks many of its writer-director’s defining traits — namely, his unparalleled eye for spectacle and action.