Introduction
Following by Christopher Nolan, released in 1998, reveals the story of a young writer who, for his obsession to follow random people in the streets of London, gets involved in a criminal world and ends up in a police department accused of a crime he has never committed.
Narrative discourse methods and techniques
The narrative discourse of the film is achieved by several methods and techniques, typical of a film noir and a modern documentary style. Raining various mixed feelings of suspense, interest, perplexity, sympathy, blame, and appealing to intellectual perception, a black-and-white handheld film with non-chronological order of scenes makes a great impact on any viewer. The film abounds in various camera shots techniques, diegetic and extradiegetic sounds, compositional scenes, and frames.
The plot
The film tells different stories connected through editing. The mainframe of the story is the conversation of the interviewer and a pivotal character that gradually reveals hints and small details to the viewer.
Main scenes description
Let us focus on the scene when Cobb joins the protagonist Bill in a café to expose Bill’s secret. I’m going to figure out what emotional and intellectual response this scene evokes on the part of the viewer. Christopher Nolan resorts to various camera techniques to emphasize and enhance the idea of the scene, to provide a frame for the spectator’s vision. The scene opens up with establishing shot that gives the whole view of the café. Close-ups of the main character allow us to carefully read his face, to get absorbed in the atmosphere of suspense.
Moreover, the next extreme close-up of such seemingly minute detail as a plate of food immediately draws up to the conclusion that Bill is very concentrated on the object of his pursuit. Compiling crisp black-and-white shots into one scene the director manages to create intrigue and suspense: as the shots substitute each other depicting first Bill then Cobb, then again Bill and Cobb the viewer begins to figure out and wait for some twist.
The next over-the-shoulder shot depicts approaching Cobb the table where the pivotal figure sits. This technique is used deliberately to show the inescapable exposure of Bill’s secret. The view at this point feels confused and embarrassed for Bill or, at least, is supposed to be. Then Nolan resorts to a two-shot, concentrating only on the conversation of two men. This is done for the purpose to make the spectator focus on the main topic of the conversation. Cobb begins to push and dominate the conversation. As he begins to fire questions at Bill, quick reverse shots bringing the view into the feeling of approaching Bill’s outburst.
It should be also pointed out that only natural minimal lighting is used in the scene to create as an interference-free environment as possible. This effect serves the purpose to create a sincere, intimate atmosphere, plenty of suspense, to let the viewer plunge into the narration in full. Besides, this effect is used to add to the mysterious atmosphere of the movie and be more close to the style of a film noir.
Another technique found in this scene is diegetic sound. It should be stressed that Nolan uses no extradiegetic sound except natural hardly heard noise from the streets. This is made deliberately to keep the viewer absorbed in the narration.
Conclusion
A brilliant writer and director, Christopher Nolan managed to create an excellent film that invites investigation and questioning on the part of the viewer through multiple effects of narrative discourse. Unfolding in a series of scenes shown to the viewer in a non-chronological order, the film manages to hold the viewer’s attention through the whole narration.