Review of Primer (2004) by Wes M — 10 Apr 2013

"What's worse, thinking you're being paranoid or knowing you should be?" Masterpiece. This was electrifying. I'll warn you now, this review is quite long (but as always, will not contain spoilers).

Shane Carruth bursts onto the screen with his directorial debut, and he is also the lead actor, writer, producer, editor, composer, lights n sounds guy, and it's fair to assume, everything else! But enough about Shane, for now.

Simply put, this film is about time travel. However, the movie is everything but simple. In my opinion, this is single-handedly, the most complicated and complex sci-fi movie ever made, mainly due to the unconventional plot structure and technical dialogue.

It is said that if you claim to understand this movie the 1st time through, you are either a savant, or a liar. It was also made on a whopping budget of $7,000. Then it went on to make over $424,000, roughly 60 times its budget (a movie is generally deemed successful when it makes 3 times its budget).

It also won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, the festival's most prestigious award. But you might be asking, "if it's so hard to understand, why did it get so much acclaim and revenue?" Well, lemme tell ya.

The answer is in the question. It is because the movie is so complex that it received all of its adoration and attention. You actually can figure everything out, but it takes time, patience, and the use of your noggin.

Just go Google something like "Primer explained" and you will find huge diagrams and very elaborate essays that walk you through what happens and how it happens (please don't do this before seeing the movie.

..duh). Or, you can do it the hard way and not look at the colorful pictures and novels people have written and you can attempt to figure it out all by yourself (this is doable, but much harder). The director has stated that he left everything complicated and not "spelled out" for the sake of the audience.

Thank you, Shane. The movie is pure brilliance; you really have to hand it to him. The fact that he could think all of this up beforehand is batshit insane. Besides watching this film, if you need further proof that he's smart, he got his degree in mathematics, and was a former software engineer.

Plus, this script shows that he's also deeply educated in chemistry and physics. Soderbergh has said that Carruth is the basically the illegitimate offspring of David Lynch and James Cameron. I highly disagree with this statement, and could take the time to disprove it, but I won't, cuz this review is long enough haha.

Everyone used to say "Oh, Memento, you need to watch that one a few times to get everything." Ha. No. THIS ONE needs your undivided attention, several times. I have the distinct pleasure of seeing Shane's new movie tomorrow, Upstream Color, at a small theater in Chicago called The Music Box.

Then they will show Primer (double feature!). Then Shane will make an appearance for a Q&A on both movies. Yes, you can be jealous, that's allowed. So in closing, if you don't like smart, thought-provoking movies, this is definitely not your bag.

If you want to try this one, bring your thinking cap. You shall be rewarded.