From: "Ted White" <twhite8 at cox.net>
To: "WSFA members" <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Fwd: Screening passes to see PRIMER
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 11:41:25 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted White" <twhite8 at cox.net>
To: "WSFA members" <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 10:43 PM
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Fwd: Screening passes to see PRIMER

[about PRIMER:]
>
> Bullshit pseudo-science.   Mass and gravitational pull are two entirely
> separate things.   Mass continues to exist in a weightless condition.
> Sounds like your standard "three wishes" wish-fulfilment machine.
> Produces rabits from hats whenever one is needed by the plot.
>
> It's possible the movie is better than it sounds from this description,
but
> as PR aimed at "science organization" guys, this is *lame*.

I turned up the following review by Eric Flores:

=======

Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot.

Note: This review was written on 6/14/04 during the Atlanta Film Festival.

This year's Sundance film festival showed an array of films from new
filmmakers that is changing the face of films. This year's Grand Jury
Prize is for a psychological, sci-fi thriller about two engineers who
build a machine that can do anything while its creators both deal with
isolation with one of them descending into the world of madness in
"Primer". Written, produced, directed, and starring Shane Carruth,
"Primer" is an obtuse, harrowing film that isn't a traditional sci-fi
film but it's more of a psychological science film that really bends the
minds of its audience into thinking of what could happen when science is
tampered with. One of the most original and strangest films of the year,
"Primer" is clearly a film that will f*ck up your mind.

The film begins when four engineers work in one's garage error checking
a product they successfully made when two of them, Aaron (Shane Carruth)
and Abe (David Sullivan) want to perfect the product even more. With
their fellow engineers helping out, they try out with new math and
science formulas where all of a sudden, Aaron and Abe create a little
machine that basically create anything. With the possibility that they
can move forward, they go to engineering labs to learn more on what they
could build and what things they could use. They take their experiment
to a U-Haul storage room where they begin to have side effects that toy
with their emotions and immediately, reality and fantasy begin to blur.

Paranoia also begins to come into Abe's mind where he eventually
isolates himself into a hotel room while breathing into an oxygen tank
due to the side effects of the experiment he chose. Aaron meanwhile
begins to tamper more with the machine and immediately, he descends into
madness that involves murder and with a slew of dark personalities, and
things become troubling. Abe and Aaron would stay in their hotel rooms
as they wait for the machine to build up its power where finally during
a party, more troubles emerge that lead to Abe and Aaron losing control
over their state of mind and finally, their relationship begins to
disintegrate over who will use the machine for what.

"Primer" is a film that will not be easy to watch. Then again as a film
critic, I still don't have a slight clue on what the film is about other
than madness. It's definitely the most unusual sci-fi film since Darren
Aronofsky's "Pi" where science is used as a very unorthodox narrative.
It's just one of those film where you don't really know what's going on
and I think a roadmap is needed before seeing the film. Still, Shane
Carruth deserves a lot of credit for making a movie that really bends
the mind with this obtuse, minimalist film that really destroys whatever
idea of conventional storytelling is.

Carruth's directing style of wide-eyed camera angles and hand-held shots
are very powerful, particularly in its most detached scenes where the
camera is sometimes shot feet away from the actors. The screenplay is an
obtuse one with a lot of talk of science in the film's dialogue and all
of these formula talks come in and again, you have no idea what they're
talking about. Engineers might have some clue but you know your mind is
going to be devoured by all this talk of science and madness. Carruth
also does the editing, sound design, and sound editing for the film
which has a stylized, choppy kind of look including a few jump cuts that
are fun to watch. Even the film's grainy cinematography by Daniel Bueche
and actor Amand Upadhaya is given a realistic, Dogme-like feel that
plays up to reality. Even Carruth is involved with an ominous film score
that is almost chilling and at times, the film is given an anti-climatic
tone with its music and tone that almost gives that same pre-millennium
tension that Todd Haynes' 1995 film "Safe" had.

The film has a small cast that is mostly led by Carruth and David
Sullivan who both give excellent performances conveying how intelligence
can lead to downfall. Carruth is the film's more troubling performance
since he descends into darkness with this chilling, harrowing
performance. Sullivan meanwhile, develops as the human conscious that
really wants to get away from all of this and try to return to a normal
life.

After the film's premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival, Carruth admits
that the film was shot with a $7000 budget while it took him a few weeks
to work on a script and he even admits, he has no idea on what directing
is. Carruth as a person is a nice guy and he just wanted to make a movie
that is unconventional in the tradition of his favorite films like "The
Conversation" and "All the President's Men" in how character study can
be done. "Primer" is a part character study film but is also a total,
mind-bending film that really challenges you to think more and more
about science.

I think for the first time ever as a filmgoer and a critic, I've felt
challenged and in the end, I'm not really sure what "Primer" is. I think
I've failed as a critic here because I'm stumped yet amazed at how a
filmmaker with no training can make such a film that really destroys
your concept of what filmmaking is. Reviews at the festival I'm guessing
are mixed because no one was really sure what it's about. I think in the
end, "Primer" is the beginning of a new kind of sci-fi that really
challenges the psyche of the human mind and in its creator Shane
Carruth; a new visionary is born.

Recommended Yes
Movie Mood: Die-hard Fans Only
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age
Viewing Method: Film Festival
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
Would See Film Again: Yes, but I'll wait for it on video

=======

--Ted White