Primer (2004) - My spoiler free review of possibly the most complex and headscratch enducing time traveling themed sci-fi movie of all time.
Hello fellow Tildos! I normally never write reviews, but i just had to after i finished watching. It's also an easy way for me to continue practice my English/writing skills, feel free to pm any feedback that you might have :)
The first time i put on the movie Primer closer to it's release i ended up putting it on the shelf half way through or so, i was probably to tired and not in the mood, because it´s one of those movies that requires your full attention.
Years went by and i forgot all about the sci-fi indie that shook Sundance back in 2004, only for it to emerge not long ago when i made another list of movies to either watch or re-watch once more, as i do now and then. I usually make these lists with a theme, or dedicated to a specific genre, this time it being sci-fi.
During my time watching this super low budget movie made by the software engineer Shane Carruth(his background really shows off in the movie) i had a hard time not thinking about the high quality of cinematography. We are shown some really nice angles right from the start, and very appealing lines of symmetry all the way through, similar to scenes found in movies made by Wes Anderson for example. Same goes for the acting and writing, - some of the dialogue really got me captivated. Every scene had things to say about the characters early on, but it also leaves enough out to keep you curious of who they really are, and what their motives might be, character development, check. An example of this is how they used wardrobe + setting to describe said characters, which obviously was very limited due to the extremely low budget, I have not looked up the actual numbers, but i think i have watched enough indie movies to identify extreme cases like this one. They did a lot with how little they had, which is an art in itself in the business of movie making. This probably bit me in the butt a bit(in a good way, no not that way, grow up:), instead of trying to figure out the time paradoxes, i was captured by how well the movie was made.
After i finished watching i had an ocean of questions. Questions i wont mention here because it might spoil the experience for you. This is a good tell that it's a movie in my taste in a sense that it leaves gaps in the story for you to fill in yourself, it´s a type of storytelling i enjoy, but also a type of storytelling that many dislike.
There is no hand holding in this movie, no explanation at the end, it trusts you to re-watch the movie until you have figured it out, or at least think you have, which is bold, but also embraces the charm of time traveling themed story's in a way, making you travel back in time by rewinding and figure out the time-lines. Or do as i did and watch an explanation video on youtube for closure.
I understand now what all the fuzz was about, why it won prices at sundance, and why it became such a strong cult classic almost instantly.
If you want a mind bender, and a movie that treats you with the respect that you can think for yourself, this might be something for you. If you are into sci-fi, and especially time travel, it's a must watch as long as you can allow yourself to get confused more then you usually get by this type of movie. I also recommend watching this when you have a fresh and rested mind, not after a long day of work.
7.8/10 - will paradox again sometime in the future
If you haven't already, check out Carruth's commentary track -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga8PPGVXyA0
There have been several attempts to map the timelines. 1, 2, 3 ... and more
Primer is a fantastic movie that really showcases Carruth's skill as a filmaker and writer, while also an actor -- as he later displayed in Upstream Color (also doing all of the music).
I doubt there's any director with a hungrier fanbase who is working today. A Topiary will most likely never get made, and The Modern Ocean seems to have died, despite a star-studded cast.
Back to Primer, its such a delight to have a film that leaves you with more questions on a positive level. I've spent countless hours talking about this movie with people over the years -- and even if we do think we have the timeline down, it only leads us to more questions, which totally destroys our previous ideas... and the cycle continues.
Thank you! This is some really nice additional information. I just watched the commentary video, but i had to change vpn server, seems like it´s not available in Europe for some reason, or at least the three country´s i tried in EU before connecting to a USA based server.
It seems like i hit the nail on the head with how i interpreted the movie and it´s creation, which feels good, it means i am learning more and more about film making. Perhaps i should write more reviews just to get better at interpreting and widen my understanding.
Those graphical time line explanation attempts provided even more closure, perfect for this morning after letting the experience sink in. I can´t say i fully understand everything even after looking at them though :D
Upstream color is added to my list of things to watch as of today. It´s going to be interesting to see how Shane´s film making has evolved after Primer.
edit: @JXM reminded me that i forgot to mention the script for A Topiary. Must be hard to find these scripts of unmade movies? I wonder if it´s worth a read or not.
Upstream Color is just... amazing. It's how I got into Carruth. It's one of the few times I saw a movie in the theatre where people just sat quietly through the entire credits.
It's unbelievably polished, but still maintains its indie sensibilities, if that makes sense. Its just 'fresh'.
Until recent (rumored) he was dating Amy Seimetz, who was in Upstream Color. They've collaborated a lot over the last few years. Most recently, Carruth did the music for The Girlfriend Experience, a series based on the film by the same name. It's a series about escorts and stuff -- which isn't for everyone, but I really enjoyed both of them for the most part.
On a side note, the commentary for the movie is pretty good. It's basically Steven Soderbergh and Sasha Grey talking about the film and the future of pornography.
Re: A Topiary, (cc: @JXM) -- here's a three part series where a guy breaks down A Topiary. No idea why it never went forward. For a time there was a moderately active sub, /r/atopiary, discussing it.
I loved Upstream Color, and it's the film that convinced me that I'm not going to get much use from IMDB ratings (which give it a 6.5).
Metacritic does better at 81%
It's pure insanity. I built a spreadsheet that pulls from a few APIs to create a good movie / tv data set. I use a combined rating system (IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and TMDB.) There is absolutely no consistency. I've tried to 'crack the code', but there are far too many variables.
The closest I've found is the 18-29 demographic on IMDB -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084989/ratings -- which is still skewed.
TMDB is almost consistently hating on movies and TV series. For my own ratings, which I don't document, I keep a simple 0 - 3 -- 0 being 'not worth the watch / bad' where 3 is 'basically the potential of the medium at this time'
Here's a sample breakdown from the services mentioned above. While they seem favorable, these are some of the greatest films ever made, yet we see a spread of 15.5%, which is fairly significant (at least in my eyes.)
Anyway, long story short -- you are right to completely dismiss the ratings. :)
edit: fixing this table
You forgot the xkcd one
sorry
Lmao!! This is great!
xkcd rarely fails to make me laugh.
ha. this is by far the most accurate. I've been hounding a buddy to make a chronological edit. I might just take a stab at it myself at some point.
I'm still working on said edit - but it's gotten to the point of a rabbit hole of just so hard to do.
The Carruth commentary track really helps.
Primer is a unique movie, certainly. It was one of those "sit there for 20 minutes afterward staring at the screen" movies for me. Those are few and far between but when they happen, they're something special.
I haven't seen his other movie yet, but from what I hear, it's fantastic.
Also, thanks to @tomf for linking to the script for A Topiary. I hadn't seen the script until now.