The Follow (2001)
The Driver is hired by a nervous movie manager to spy on a paranoid actor's wife. During his tailing of the wife, the Driver describes the right way to tail someone. As he follows her he begins to fear what he might learn of her apparently tragic life. He discovers the wife is fleeing the country and returning to her mother's, and that she's been given a black eye, likely by her husband. He returns the money for the job, refusing to tell where the wife is, and drives off telling the manager never to call him again.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Reviews
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
In 2001 and 2002, BMW hired some of the world's greatest living directors and Guy Richie (who actually made one of the best of these shorts) to make eight short but very cinematic films. All of them featured a BMW as well as Clive Owen in the lead, but otherwise the directors and directors were apparently allowed to carry out their vision in making some truly outstanding films. This is the fourth of the series that I have seen and it's just amazing that the folks at BMW managed to get John Frankenheimer, John Woo, Ang Lee and others to make these films--as well as the acting talent they could assemble. In this particular film, Wong Kar Wai ("Chungking Express") directs and the film co-stars Forrest Whitaker and Mickey Rourke--all these in a genre that almost always features "newbies"!! This is the prettiest of the the shorts I've seen so far. The camera-work and especially the music are just wonderful--it's a real nice work of art. The problem, however, is that the story itself seems just too short--even for a short film. At about 8 minutes in length, I wish in hindsight they'd perhaps added another couple minutes, as the film just seemed incomplete. Interesting, yes, but incomplete. See it yourself and see if you agree with me--exceptionally artistic but missing something.By the way, it is interesting that although you assume Clive Owen is an assassin in "The Follow", this is never explicitly stated! In addition, in all the other shorts I've seen so far, he's been a heroic sort--here he's much more morally ambiguous. I wanted to know more about this--it seemed like an interesting idea.
Beautiful, lyrical and - unlike so many of its commercial brethren - this one actually has a story to tell. And it makes me want to rent every one of the director's films.While I felt that Clive Owen was auditioning for Bond in this series of ads, I liked him a lot more here - a hint of character, backbone and story go a long ways... And I've enjoyed Forest Whitaker ever since he stole The Color Of Money from Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. But where that film never seemed to get going again after he left it, this one moves ahead nicely.Recommended.
BMW Films currently has 5 offerings and all of them deliver. In comparison to the rest, this one is subdued in vehicular action. The plot, suspense and mystery still keep you holding on until the surprise ending. An uncredited Forest Whitaker does a fine job as the investigator. BMW Films has presented talented actors/actresses without billing them.
By far the best short in the BMW Films series, this piece by director Wong Kar-wei pays homage to the Los Angeles noir films of past, with a mesmerizing soundtrack by Silvio Rodriguez Dominguez that makes you wish this was 120 minute feature. With a welcome cameo by Forrest Whittaker and a luscious, mesmerizing monologue by Clive Owen as the reluctant hired-gun, "The Follow" indeed follows the noir mantra that all is not what they appear to be.