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This science fiction drama film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival,
and eventually scored $424,000 at the box office following a limited release in October
of that year. On a minuscule budget of only $7,000 former engineer and mathematics graduate
Shane Curruth basically created this entire picture by himself, serving as director, producer,
writer, actor, composer, and editor. So let that be a lesson to aspiring filmmakers: if
you have a dream, and enough money to buy a used Toyota Corolla, you really can make
a feature film all by yourself. The PG-13 rated plot follows Carruth and David Sullivan
as two fledging entrepreneurs who inadvertently build a time machine in their garage, and
begin experimenting with it. Interestingly though, the phrases "time travel" and "time
machine" are never used once in the complicated script, which has not been simplified at all
for audiences. In a medium saturated with dumbed-down exposition, this intelligent approach
is certainly commendable, but it can also be frustrating. The audience is largely kept
in the dark as we watch the brainy protagonists solve their scientific dilemmas. Their performances
are serviceable for the technical aspects, but when it comes to the picture's few dramatic
moments, it's obvious they're amateurs. Although "Primer" is a very short 77-minutes, the material
is so dense it feels like a much longer production. There's no fat on this story, everything has
been trimmed down to the bare essentials of storytelling. And for better or worse: there's
absolutely zero backstory or character development, as the narrative begins without an introduction
as to who these people are, or what they're doing. The audience is given no clue as to
whether they're building a transporter or a toaster oven. Eventually though, we see
they've constructed a pair of refrigerator sized boxes that allow its occupants real
time backwards movement through the fourth dimension. It's extremely fascinating to see
how these characters analytically use this power in incrementally more courageous amounts;
first to make modest income on the stock market, and later to stop a violent attack. Remarking on paradoxical
consequences, Carruth questions his friend, "What's worse, thinking you're being paranoid
or knowing you should be?" Often bathed in overly orange hues, the visuals here are decidedly
plain and unremarkable. Carruth's abilities as an editor however are a touch better, utilizing
the occasional jump cut to illustrate the characters' disorientation when time shifting.
For those interested in the hypothetical science of time travel, this picture does a fantastic
job of exploring those concepts and ideas. And if you manage to understand all of the
temporal twists, you're smarter than I am- because even after a second viewing, I had
a very difficult time figuring it out. The movie just sort of ends though, without properly
examining the moral implications of manipulating the time-line. "Primer" may be dry and complicated,
but it's extremely fascinating, and a GOOD movie.