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Title:
Primer
Region:
One
Genre:
Science Fiction Drama
Stars:
Shane Carruth and David Sullivan
Writer:
Shane Carruth
Director:
Shane Carruth
Feature
length: 77 minutes
Extras:
Two Feature Length Audio Commentary Tracks and Trailers
Languages:
English Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and English and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2005
Theatrical
Distributor: New Line Cinema and Think Film
Home
Video Distributor: New Line Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Winner
of the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Category at the 2004 Sundance Film
Festival, “Primer” is an intelligent and compelling science fiction drama
from first time Writer and Director Shane Carruth, who also stars in the film
along with David Sullivan. The two play engineers who develop a device that
enables them to travel back in time and manipulate events. Curiosity gets the
better of them as they each begin to take their own secret trips back in time.
The complication is for every trip either man takes, they have to contend with
the fact that somewhere else their doubles are still going about the business of
their daily lives. Thus they have to keep careful record of where they were
before they took their trip to avoid consequences they never dreamed possible.
Unfortunately with this power comes a certain amount of responsibility and
paranoia as well as unexplained physical side effects. Both men get hemorrhaging
in one of their ears and both begin to lose the ability to handwrite as they
take trips back in time. The worst consequences occur when both men must
confront the ever-increasing amount of doubles existing in the same space-time
continuum as they do and thus resort to extreme actions. Another consequence of
time travel is exhaustion. If you go back six hours or more to take care of
things you could not do during the regular workday, a typical 24-hour day can
quickly exceed 30 hours or more.
Soon
it becomes painfully obvious that neither man can truly be comfortable with the
other since they have violated the rules they set up to prevent the events they
are now dealing with. It also appears that another person has discovered their
secret and in order to prevent a tragic event, both men labor to undo the events
set in motion, but nothing for either of them will ever be the same again.
“Primer”
works well because it feels real. This is not a special effects film, but rather
a cautionary tale that invites multiple viewings to catch the nuances
throughout. The dialogue is very natural in that the men at least seem to sound
like engineers without resorting to the overuse of sci-fi babble to explain away
something. In his detailed feature length audio commentary, Shane Carruth states
that some of the supporting players in the film were actually members of the
crew while he ended up taking a lead role in the film because he could not find
an actor that he felt embodied the character as he imagined it in the
screenplay. He also points out various story points as well as some background
on the research done for the film and the guerilla style filmmaking techniques
used too. Carruth also participates in a second feature length audio commentary
with cast and crewmembers, but I found the solo commentary far more interesting
and entertaining than the group track.
Shot
on super-16mm film and blown up to 35mm for theatrical release, “Primer”
looks grainy, but I think it gives the film a slight documentary feel to it that
serves it better than if it had been made with super slick postproduction
techniques and whatnot. A clear English Stereo Soundtrack is provided along with
English Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and English and Spanish
Language Subtitles encoded as options.
The
theatrical trailer (1:37) along with a reel of previews for “The Assassination
Of Richard Nixon” and “Vera Drake” (4:53) is presented with 5.1 Surround
Sound too. The interactive menus are well rendered with animated transitions and
full motion scene selections and all are easy to navigate. It is nice to see
some good science fiction that doesn’t depend on eye candy to tell an
intriguing story. “Primer” is available now on DVD-Video at retailers on and
offline courtesy of New Line Home Entertainment and I think regardless of
whether one purchases or rents this DVD, “Primer” is a must-see for anyone
who appreciates thought provoking science fiction.
©
Copyright 2005 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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