Following(1999)

Plot Summary

• A struggling, unemployed young writer (credited as "The Young Man") takes to following strangers around the streets of London, ostensibly to find inspiration for his first novel. Initially, he sets strict rules for himself regarding whom he should follow and for how long, but he soon discards them as he focuses on a well-groomed, handsome man in a dark suit. The man in the suit, having noticed he is being followed, quickly confronts the Young Man and introduces himself as "Cobb". Cobb reveals that he is a serial burglar and invites the Young Man (who tells Cobb his name is "Bill") to accompany him on various burglaries. The material gains from these crimes seem to be of secondary importance to Cobb. He takes pleasure in rifling through the personal items in his targets' flats and drinking their wine. He explains that his true passion is using the shock of robbery and violation of property to make his victims re-examine their lives. He sums up his attitude thus: "You take it away, and show them what they had."The Young Man is thrilled by Cobb's lifestyle. He attempts break-ins of his own, as Cobb encourages and guides him. At Cobb's suggestion, he alters his appearance, cutting his hair short and wearing a dark suit. He assumes the name "Daniel Lloyd" based on the credit card Cobb gives to him and begins to pursue a relationship with a blonde woman whose flat he and Cobb burgled. The Blonde turns out to be the girlfriend of a small-time gangster (known only as the "Bald Guy") whom she broke up with after he murdered a man in her flat. Soon, the Blonde confides that the Bald Guy is blackmailing her with incriminating photographs. The Young Man breaks into the Bald Guy's safe, but is caught in the act by an unidentified man. He then bludgeons the man with a claw hammer and flees with the Bald Guy's money and photos. Upon returning to his flat, he finds that the photos are innocuous modeling shots.Confronting the Blonde, the Young Man learns that she and Cobb have been working together to manipulate him into mimicking Cobb's burglary methods. She tells him that Cobb had recently discovered a murdered woman's body during one of his burglaries and is attempting to deflect suspicion from himself by making it appear as though multiple burglars share his MO.The Young Man leaves to turn himself in to the police. The Blonde reports her success to Cobb, who then reveals that he actually works for the Bald Guy. The story about the murdered woman was part of a plot to deceive both the Blonde and the Young Man: The Blonde has been blackmailing the Bald Guy with evidence from the murder he committed in her flat, and he wants her murdered in such a way that it cannot be connected to him. Cobb bludgeons the Blonde to death with the same claw hammer that the Young Man used during the burglary of the Bald Guy's safe and leaves it at the scene. The police, checking out the Young Man's story, find the Blonde murdered and the claw hammer with his fingerprints on it. The Young Man is thus implicated for the murder of the blonde woman. Cobb, meanwhile, vanishes into a crowd.

Storyline

• Pulp fiction neo noir crime story about a writer, The Young Man, who follows strangers for writing material in the broad day light or into the darkness of London. He eventually gets caught by Cobb, a mad thief who toys with others properties. Cobb lures The Young Man, and inspiring writer, also known as Bill/Danny Lloyd into his secret life of breaking and entering and theft. Bill comes across a story from one of his trespasses, Lucy Russel. He begins to see her and spends time hearing her story. Lucy unveils her shadowy path when she confesses a crime she witnessed from an elder psychotic boyfriend. She had witnessed a murder from a violent criminal who plunged a debtor to death by his own hammer. The story continues as Bill acts out in the underground crime world of murder theft and adultery and continues his own storyline for the future of his storytelling career. — jonathancolespivey A young aspiring writer follows strangers through London, intrigued by their lives, until he becomes entangled with a mysterious thief named Cobb. As the protagonist is drawn into crime, deception, and betrayal, he struggles to discern reality from manipulation. The nonlinear narrative examines voyeurism, obsession, and the ethical boundaries of curiosity. The film blends noir suspense and psychological exploration, highlighting the consequences of choice and the unpredictable nature of human behavior. — chera_khalid An older man listens to Bill's story about being a callow writer who likes to follow strangers around London, observing them. One day, a glib and self-confident man whom Bill has been following confronts him. He's Cobb, a burglar who takes Bill under his wing and shows him how to break and enter. They burgle a woman's flat; Bill gets intrigued with her (photographs are everywhere in her flat). He follows her and chats her up at a bar owned by her ex-boyfriend, a nasty piece of work who killed someone in her living room with a hammer. Soon Bill is volunteering to do her a favor, which involves a break-in. What does the older man know that Bill doesn't? — <jhailey@hotmail.com> The protagonist of Following is Bill. Bill is an unemployed aspiring writer who lives a solitary and boring life in London, England. Bill has a fascination with people, and with hopes of finding material to write about, begins to pick individuals out of a crowd, and to follow them. Bill establishes rules to keep him out of trouble and to keep his 'following' random, but soon enough he breaks one of his rules by following someone more than once. The character he follows on numerous occasions first is Cobb. Cobb a confident and intelligent burglar catches Bill spying on him and soon involves Bill in his peculiar burglaries. Similar to Bill's interest in following, Cobb has a great interest in the individuals he is stealing from. During the robbery of a residence Bill becomes interested in the woman who owns the flat, so he begins to follow her. Eventually he decides to meet her and they begin seeing each other. This upsets Cobb as he also learns the woman has asked Bill to do a job for her. But things are not as they seem, and soon Bill will find out why. — KipWellsFan