Primer

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Tyler

Shane Carruth made a heck of a debut with this time travel drama. The logistics of the plot can be overwhelming and more so the engineering technobabble the characters speak in. But when you get down to it, this is a somewhat sad story about how two friends with insatiable curiosity invent something they don't understand, and as their lives spiral out of control their trust is put to the test.

This is a very dialogue heavy film, there are layers of it all overlapping and the majority of it is like a foreign language spoken only by extreme engineers. But you learn to let it wash over you and filter out the key points that drive character and story. The way it's acted out makes the characters and language feel very authentic. It's probably the most believable time travel film I've seen.

The 16mm film is sometimes out of focus a little but the shots and nice and the colour grading has an interesting palette too. As well as writing, directing and acting, Carruth also made a nice little score for his film.

Now the time travel is paradoxical, I generally don't go for that but the way it screws up peoples comprehension of the film is kinda funny. Not even I would claim to understand every event that happens in the film, but I have a very good idea and some theories.

But after all the fun ideas of time travel and causality are explored, in the end it's the two central characters that keep you invested. And the mess they make for themselves is, for me, as fascinating as it is confusing.

This is a real gem. One of those great small realistic sci-fi films that I love. Be sure to check it out if you've never seen it before and see how well you go. I look forward to giving Carruth's next film another look soon too.