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Primer (directed by Shane Carruth, 2004)
I've only seen it once and if I was asked to explain every intricacy of the plot to someone I simply could not do it. I don't know what the hell happened in this movie, but I loved the hell out of it.
I never care for tag lines of movies, but this one couldn't be more appropriate: "What happens if it actually works?"
Don't ask yourself the question of the technology in the movie, ask yourself that of the movie itself. If you can figure out every detail of this movie's plot the first time around, you are a far better man (or woman) than I. I was left with only a handful of understanding, but it wasn't the type of movie that leaves you think, "well that was full of plot holes" or "that could never happen", it's the type of movie that leaves you thinking, "no clue what just happened, but I know it was freaking great!" If I sat down and meticulously looked at every detail of this movie's plot and read over the script 10 times and came to the conclusion that movie is full of **** and really does just have a plot that intentionally makes no sense, I wouldn't care, because the question you should ask yourself is "What happens if it actually works?"
This movie doesn't need to work to actually work. In fact, it banks on misunderstanding. It invests itself in confusion. But it isn't a movie that comes off making no sense, it actually makes perfect sense, it's just slightly beyond comprehension. Which is an utterly perfect reflection of the film's two main characters. They build it, they don't know what it does, why it does what it does and how to stop what it's doing - but they know that something is happening and that something is special. I'm going to watch the commentary soon as word has it that it explains everything, but resolve is something that isn't a crucial cog in the machine of cinematic acceptance.
The movie goes out of it's way to keep the reader in the dark. Most noteably is the use of sensory overload. The script doesn't want for someone to finish talking before it can explain a crucial piece of information, it'll jumble it right into the conversation. Complex dialogue that would normally be dedicated to the audience's undivided intention in any other mystery is in a constant battle with background noise. Missed what the hell the machine does because you couldn't hear the conversation over the sound of traffic? Too bad says the director. Fantastic says I.
It's a story of regular guys trying to understand beyond their means. This isn't just about reaching your goals, this is about reaching other people's goals. This isn't an inspirational story where the kid with Down's Syndrome becomes the quarterback, this is the story where the kid with Down's Syndrome invents a ray gun and shoots himself in the face with it. I LOVE IT!
But the story and director's efforts to camouflage it aren't the only things that make the movie work, because it'd fall flat if it weren't for the spot on performances that headline it. Shane Carruth (who also wrote and directed) and David Sullivan are wonderful. They're completely average in every sense of the word. They are us if we were in this movie. This movie emulates the reality of this what if question so perfectly that sometimes it's creepy.
The stark aesthetics of every setting were a great semblance of the engineer's bleached lifestyle. The blocking goes hand in hand with the audial overload by means of visual defficencies. The edits bouncing forward in not only time, but space as well wonderfully compliment the aforementioned story hiding tactis. This movie has got everything going on, but unlike other movies where the pieces just conviently fall together this is a movie where the craftsmanship that went into painstakingly detailing every frame seen, every decibel heard and every line spoken is visible to anyone who isn't legally blind.
Even if I never figure out this movie, I'll still love it. Even if I do figure out this movie only to find out it doesn't make even a shred of sense, I love it. Even if I do figure it out, it makes sense, but it's just mediocre, I'll love it. All because the question asked in the film and of the film; "What happens if it actually works?"
This is Asimov, Clarke, Sagan and Crichton all rolled into one. If you like science and you like fiction you will like this movie.
5 out of 5
The One Sentence Review - Figure it out or don't figure it out, it doesn't actually matter because Primer is a remarkably elusive film that should not escape your attention.
I've only seen it once and if I was asked to explain every intricacy of the plot to someone I simply could not do it. I don't know what the hell happened in this movie, but I loved the hell out of it.
I never care for tag lines of movies, but this one couldn't be more appropriate: "What happens if it actually works?"
Don't ask yourself the question of the technology in the movie, ask yourself that of the movie itself. If you can figure out every detail of this movie's plot the first time around, you are a far better man (or woman) than I. I was left with only a handful of understanding, but it wasn't the type of movie that leaves you think, "well that was full of plot holes" or "that could never happen", it's the type of movie that leaves you thinking, "no clue what just happened, but I know it was freaking great!" If I sat down and meticulously looked at every detail of this movie's plot and read over the script 10 times and came to the conclusion that movie is full of **** and really does just have a plot that intentionally makes no sense, I wouldn't care, because the question you should ask yourself is "What happens if it actually works?"
This movie doesn't need to work to actually work. In fact, it banks on misunderstanding. It invests itself in confusion. But it isn't a movie that comes off making no sense, it actually makes perfect sense, it's just slightly beyond comprehension. Which is an utterly perfect reflection of the film's two main characters. They build it, they don't know what it does, why it does what it does and how to stop what it's doing - but they know that something is happening and that something is special. I'm going to watch the commentary soon as word has it that it explains everything, but resolve is something that isn't a crucial cog in the machine of cinematic acceptance.
The movie goes out of it's way to keep the reader in the dark. Most noteably is the use of sensory overload. The script doesn't want for someone to finish talking before it can explain a crucial piece of information, it'll jumble it right into the conversation. Complex dialogue that would normally be dedicated to the audience's undivided intention in any other mystery is in a constant battle with background noise. Missed what the hell the machine does because you couldn't hear the conversation over the sound of traffic? Too bad says the director. Fantastic says I.
It's a story of regular guys trying to understand beyond their means. This isn't just about reaching your goals, this is about reaching other people's goals. This isn't an inspirational story where the kid with Down's Syndrome becomes the quarterback, this is the story where the kid with Down's Syndrome invents a ray gun and shoots himself in the face with it. I LOVE IT!
But the story and director's efforts to camouflage it aren't the only things that make the movie work, because it'd fall flat if it weren't for the spot on performances that headline it. Shane Carruth (who also wrote and directed) and David Sullivan are wonderful. They're completely average in every sense of the word. They are us if we were in this movie. This movie emulates the reality of this what if question so perfectly that sometimes it's creepy.
The stark aesthetics of every setting were a great semblance of the engineer's bleached lifestyle. The blocking goes hand in hand with the audial overload by means of visual defficencies. The edits bouncing forward in not only time, but space as well wonderfully compliment the aforementioned story hiding tactis. This movie has got everything going on, but unlike other movies where the pieces just conviently fall together this is a movie where the craftsmanship that went into painstakingly detailing every frame seen, every decibel heard and every line spoken is visible to anyone who isn't legally blind.
Even if I never figure out this movie, I'll still love it. Even if I do figure out this movie only to find out it doesn't make even a shred of sense, I love it. Even if I do figure it out, it makes sense, but it's just mediocre, I'll love it. All because the question asked in the film and of the film; "What happens if it actually works?"
This is Asimov, Clarke, Sagan and Crichton all rolled into one. If you like science and you like fiction you will like this movie.
5 out of 5
The One Sentence Review - Figure it out or don't figure it out, it doesn't actually matter because Primer is a remarkably elusive film that should not escape your attention.