Primer (2004)

Touches You

best movie i've ever seen.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Boring, boring, tangled. Move backward. Boring, boring, tangled. Move backward. Boring.....

I almost exclusively review time travel or otherwise tripped out sci-fi and this is one of my favs in that vein, but about all I can say is watch it. It's fascinating. It's also fascinating to follow up the viewing with fan diagrams of the plot(s).

This is not an easy movie to follow or wrap your head around and it's not perfect but once you do start to understand it then you can appreciate some of the complexities and quirks. For how low budget it was, I think it was really well done. The storyline and main character interactions were definitely the best parts of the movie. You will likely need multiple viewings and possibly even a youtube explanation video to really appreciate it though.

With a 7,000 dollar budget and completely unknown actors all-around, Primer is the mere definition of a small-budgeted indie feature. It's also incredibly complicated and technically brilliant considering Shane Carruth's (director, producer, writer, editor, composer, and actor) comprehensive knowledge in mathematics and engineering. Which is one of the things that makes Primer so special, it's originality. It's a nice mix of a Christopher Nolan non-liner structured script, a David Lynch style tone, and the science & imagination of a James Cameron film. For a first feature, I'm not sure I can give a higher praise. Unfortunately, it's not always the easiest film to follow as Carruth rarely ever takes the time for exposition. At the same time a film like this, which already has a slower pace, probably would do worse with several exposition scenes. What the film does, however, is provide fascinating propositions for what time travel could look and feel like. It's not as simple as Back to the Future nor as expansive as Interstellar, but it is very personal. And with a film that mostly focuses on two best friends, the personal approach is obviously beneficial. With all that said, I think the limitations prevent this from being an instant classic. I'd like to see Carruth revisit the ideas and themes and make a bigger budgeted feature. That way, he could make the film longer and more in-depth. Just as a pure sci-fi fan, there's a lot to like about a film that reinvents how to tell a cerebral story in new and interesting ways. Overall though, Primer is an unforgettable film.7.8/10