Christopher Nolan's Batman #0

Christopher Nolan is one of our finest modern-day film directors. Memento (2000) was my first encounter with the gentleman's work and I found it to be wonderful. His Inception (2010) and The Prestige (2006) were every bit as great, and of course his Batman trilogy (2005, 2008, 2102) were remarkable. You might remember that his Dunkirk (2017) struck me so much as an EC war comic brought to life that I had a few things to say about it right here on the Hfz.

Last week I was searching on Netflix for discs that I might add to my mailing queue and I was startled to spot a Christopher Nolan movie I had never heard of: Following (1998). I put that request at the top of my queue and it arrived in the mail a few days later.

Though just 70 minutes long, Following has the earmarks of a Christopher Nolan film: excellent plotting with an interesting new angle to the story, and smart dialogue for all the characters. I expected Following to be a good movie but I never expected to see a Batman insignia on the door of a London flat that the hoodlums were breaking into! A full seven years before the gent's first Batman movie Christopher Nolan telegraphed to all of us where he planned on going. Message received!