Primer is a study in what can go wrong when a film's vision is too singular. Shane Carruth, a newcomer to the industry, wrote, directed, starred in, produced, was co-cinematographer, edited and wrote original music for the film which may as well be his child. While this high level of involvement produces the effect desired by the Renaissance man in charge, it overlooks the crucial element of story telling. That is, creating an account clear to those not currently occupying Mr. Carruth's head.
A film centered on the idea of what would happen if a time machine fell into the hands of ordinary people is not a new concept. It has been visited time and time again in films running the gamut from the classic \Time Machine"" based on the novel by H. G. Wells (the George Pal version, certainly not the over-produced drivel of 2002) to light-hearted romps through history such as ""Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure."" However, a film about time travel has never been more believable. A group of over-worked, under-paid software engineers that look like they wandered off the set of ""Office Space"" are headed by Aaron (played by Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan). The group stumbles upon a method for time travel during some garage experiments and the film pontificates on the possible outcomes of the discovery.
While the first half of the film is intriguing and relatively easy to follow, with some effort on the audience's part, the story soon disintegrates into David Lynch-ian plot twists and conspiracy. This movie follows a recent trend in screen writing wherein writers try to confuse their audience until they are beyond criticism. After all, to say a confusing film is brilliant makes you, at the minimum, smart enough to understand it. But with any confusing movie, even brilliant ones, the truth is that the writer simply did not take the time to clarify the story.
The visual style of the movie, however, is wonderful. Shot entirely in hand-held and steady cam, the film has a stark, surreal and almost apocalyptic feel to it that captures the tone perfectly. Also, the original score, comprised of simple, offbeat piano, compliments the overall timbre of the film. The acting is superb. Not a single actor broke the fragile quality of the film with an over-the-top performance. Rather, the entire cast maintained a quiet, minimal presentation that, instead of boring the audience, increased the intensity.
By and large, Carruth shows real promise as a writer and director. He has a true filmmaker's eye and an uncanny knack for tone. However, the overall mood of the audience leaving the theater was one of confusion. The film would certainly benefit from multiple viewings, though it remains to be seen whether or not the tangled web of ""Primer"" could be unraveled by anyone other than Carruth himself
