Review: Primer

Part two of SPM's column, "Netflixing," reviews another commonly-overlooked movie often only available online.

 by Eric Graf
 published on Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Describing a movie as "indie" these days is usually more of a reflection on its quirkiness instead of its financing. It's easy to forget that indie flicks shouldn't just be about an ultra-cool soundtrack and characters dressed in thrift-store chic. They should aim to try new things.

2004's Primer, from first-time writer/director/actor Shane Carruth, is a perfect example of a movie with some big ideas. While the budget is so small that almost no professional actors are present, Primer manages to leap off the screen.

For the first quarter of the movie, Carruth gets a little lost in the world he created. He throws the audience right in the middle of the completely boring experiments of white-collar engineer types in their free time, which is as dull as it sounds.

But Primer finds its rhythm soon enough. The film picks up when the two protagonists accidentally invent a time machine, much to their own disbelief.

Unlike most time-travel stories, this isn't about some grand scheme or an attempt to change history. It's about two things, primarily: how the machine affects the lives of everyday people who now have a very big secret, and the endless permutations and problems of time travel.

The first point provides most of the drama, as the two friends try to dodge a domestic disturbance situation and play the stock market, among other things.

The second point is where Primer either astounds or confounds, depending upon how much thought you're willing to put in.

I've seen the movie multiple times and there are elements of the story I just do not understand. I'm not sure the story is told in a chronological order or that such an order could even exist in this story. But that's exactly what makes it so intriguing and worth multiple viewings.

Even with a clunky start, Primer is largely able to both entertain and provoke thought. The end might leave you with more questions than answers, but what superior work of art doesn't?

— eric.graf@asu.edu