Primer (2004)
Drama | Thriller | Sci-Fi

What happens if it actually works?

Everything you think you know about modern science is about to unravel.

While conducting experiments in a garage, two brilliant engineers who lead double lives accidentally discover that their project enables them to travel back in time. Each man's curiosity leads to experiments without the other's knowledge, some with serious consequences. In an "ingenious blend of sci-fi and mystery" (Steven Read, "Philadelphia Inquirer"), viewers are challenged to solve the puzzle that is PRIMER.

User Comment: Quicksand from United States, 9 October 2004 • It's not easy to follow. The production values aren't perfect. There's not an obvious 'good guy' or 'bad guy.' But was this movie any good? Oh hell yes.

This movie has been compared to "2001" because of the sci-fi angle. But while the movie has one sci-fi element in it (the device), the movie isn't even about that. It's about these two guys, and how it affects them individually, and their relationship with one another.

I found this movie to be fairly challenging, but worth the ride. I was up for hours discussing this movie with friends, and if that's not what you like to do with your movies, then this one probably isn't for you. But if you like something that tweaks your brain, that you can watch repeated times, that you can really chew on... then here comes "Primer," like a ghost in the night.

It's too early to tell where this movie will reside in cinematic history-- revered, forgotten, or somewhere in between-- but it's already won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance (where it beat out 'Garden State'), and just won't go away. It moves along, it's clever, it held my attention. Even "Pi" didn't do that, and if you're a film nerd, that's saying something.

If you're not a film nerd, approach this one with more caution. Remember, Shane Carruth had no idea even how to make a movie when he started making this one, but the end result is something far more fascinating than your typical film-school snob could ever put together. This is wholly original, and took me someplace I have never been. And that alone makes the "2001" comparison start to look more and more accurate.....

Summary: No Maps for These Territories.

[CSW] -2- It was very difficult to follow and convoluted enough to have you guessing at what you just saw. The degree of difficulty in just being able to backtrack not just the plot but whether side effects from the machine were actually a cause for part of the plot was tremendous. Most people would not find this film enjoyable not only because it is too cerebral but because like 2001 it almost tells you what it is trying to say and then tell you that what it just told you isn't the actual truth. I normally enjoy these types of movies but this one took too long to develop and was so convoluted and obscure that I actually got tired of trying to follow it.
No D-Box.

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