publisher: New Line Home Entertainment
released: 19 April, 2005
Film Rating: A-
DVD Video: Adequate, though grainy at times.
DVD Audio: Clean rendition of dialogue and sound effects.
DVD Extras: Two commentaries
Bottom Line: You don't watch Primer.
You wrestle it. If you are paying attention, you will find yourself
intrigued, aggravated, confused, chilled, and in turn perhaps even awed by this
indie sci-fi film. This is not a movie to veg out with. Invite your geekiest
friends over, stock up on snacks, and watch Primer twice in a row.
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Primer at Amazon.com publisher: New Line Home Entertainment released: 19 April, 2005 |
Full Review
The premise of director, writer and actor Shane Carruth's debut film Primer is simple: what if you accidentally built a time machine in your garage? Technically, Primer is a science-fiction film, but seeing as it is filmed in suburban Texas, that fact could sneak up on you. The utter lack of eye candy lets you devote your full attention to unraveling the picture's extremely dense dialogue and even more confounding plot.
Most other reviews of Primer criticize three specific things, two of which I would like to rebut here. (I should note that most other reviews were still very positive in the end, but I still felt that much of their criticism needed a counterpoint—hence, my own review.)
The first universal contention is that the film is just plain confusing. Well, there is no arguing with that. You will need to watch it twice, and even then, you will be scratching your head about many things. This is especially true in the second half of the movie, where it is implied that some very far-out things are happening.
That all said, this is the first movie in years that has motivated me to watch it twice in as many days… and almost a week later, I am still thinking about it. Primer is like one of those vivid dreams that stick with you for a while. I don't fully understand it, but it has definitely gotten to me.
The second major reviewer's complaint, and one that I disagree strongly with, is that the characters are unlikeable or poorly developed. It's been called a "movie for engineers." On the contrary, I felt almost immediately attached to the two main characters, Aaron and Abe (Shane Carruth and David Sullivan). There's not much of a character "arc" in Primer, true; but what you do have is a very solid depiction of two old friends who have stumbled onto something big. The dialogue between Aaron and Abe is admittedly half techno-jargon, but the other half successfully sketches a business partnership, and more importantly, a deep friendship. The other characters in Primer aren't especially interesting though they are all competently written and acted.
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The third popular complaint, which I also take some exception to, is that the movie is loaded with technobabble. Well, it is, but I felt that in this context, it was fine—even proper. If you were watching a couple of physics and engineering prodigies cook up a time machine, would you fully understand their conversation? For most of us, probably not.
On its own, that is admittedly a poor justification. It doesn't work for Star Trek, after all. But the engineering lingo in Primer is a lot more plausible than in other sci-fi stories, and if you listen carefully, you can figure out most of what Aaron and Abe are talking about. For example, in one scene, they are talking about how they won't need the expensive cooling equipment that others have used in similar apparatus, because they have figured out a way to do something important at room temperature. Do what? We don't know. Primer doesn't spell that kind of thing out.
Primer is an intense, thought-provoking film that demands both analysis and a bit of forgiveness from the viewer. Unraveling its twists and turns makes for a unique and very powerful movie experience.