Primer (2004)
Note: Some spoilers.
If you can understand this film,
you are either really, really smart about quantum
physics or you are on a lot of drugs. Or both. I,
for one, although a former drug user and a tripper
of the highest caliber, couldn't make heads or tails
out of what was going on here. "Primers" time-travel,
box- within-a-box-within-a-box construct is enough
to give even the most clear-headed Zen Buddhist a
headache.
Luckily, I had no knowledge of the
film prior to seeing it, so I had no idea it dealt
with time travel (and, in a way, dopplegangers). It's
a good thing too because the first 30 minutes of this
short 80 minute film is a set-up that goes on forever.
It was interesting to me, because I had no prior knowledge
of the time travel angle, so I wasn't sitting around
impatiently waiting for the film to get there. I had
time to enjoy the interesting elements of the film
while I tried to decipher its plot and meaning.
During the first 30 minutes of "Primer,"
I had time to enjoy the film's low-budget appeal.
In many ways it reminded me of films I had seen at
Slamdance and other film festivals in the past. Obviously
made on a shoestring budget, the film was still beautifully
shot, interestingly written, well acted and nicely
paced. I really enjoyed the framing of many of the
shots and the attention to detail placed on the visuals
here. The music was beautiful as well, culminating
in a film that seems like it is really going to be
something worth noting. I though that I was going
to be seeing one of the best films of the year.
But as the story progresses, the
events depicted here become more and more unlikely
and the plot gets more and more convoluted. What appeared
to be a film about a group of friends who have a sideline
business where they are working with computers and
trying to create something new (I thought perhaps
the film was going to be a little bit based on Bill
Gates' story for a while) ultimately turns into a
time travel movie that is impossible to understand.
It's like "Primer" is trying to be the "Pi" of time
travel movies but it never becomes as edgy and as
cool as that film. Eventually the inability to keep
up with the plot and understand what is going on in
the film looses the viewer, prompting them to shrug
and be grateful the film is only 80 minutes long.
"Primer" is worth seeing if only
as an example of what filmmakers can still do with
talent, skill and an artistic eye. It's just a shame
that this promising film gets lost in a script that
tries to be so clever it becomes untethered incomprehensibility,
much in the way the characters seemingly supposedly
become untethered in time.
Note:
Written and directed by Shane Carruth,
who also has a starring role. He also produced, edited,
and shot the film as well as providing the score.
Filmed in and around Dallas, Texas.
Distributed by Thinkfilms.
The film won two awards at Sundance
in January, 2004, where it premiered. The film also
played Cannes that year before starting an arthouse
run in October.
Viewed in Austin at the Dobie in
November 2004.
