- At some point in their lives, I'm sure every scientist or engineer has dreamed about going independent. No more grant writing, tenure reviews, or committee obligations. No more getting stuck working on your boss' pet projects. Just you and your work out there in the garage. Sounds great, right? I imagine this is where most researchers remember that independence also means paying for your own equipment with money that you'll have trouble making back. For every Steve Jobs, there's probably a thousand guys you've never heard of who were just out there wasting their time.
- Primer is the story of two guys who definitely did not waste their time. In fact, they accidentally stumbled upon a way never to waste time again. While attempting to build a, ummm...actually, I'm unclear on what it was originally supposed to be, hardware engineers Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) invented a time machine. At first, it promotes fungus growth and advances watches. Then, comes the man-sized prototype. It works, but is it safe? With amusing frankness, Abe admits that he "can imagine no way in which this thing could be considered anywhere remotely close to safe." Pretty soon they're ditching work to go spend the day in a cheap motel room just to make sure they don't affect themselves in an acausal manner. At the end of the day, they climb into the machines and slowly go back to the start.
- Whereas their initial experiments mostly involve giving themselves hot stock tips, the situation quickly grows more complex. For one thing, there are these weird side effects like bleeding ears and increasingly poor handwriting. Then there's the mystery of how a man named Granger (Chip Carruth), who is also the father of Abe's girlfriend Rachel (Samantha Thomson), got access to one of the machines. Complicating things even further is Aaron's strange behavior that culminates in saving Rachel from a gunman at a party. Finally, we discover that there's more than just one set of time machines at work here. I'll tell you this: those things may make life easier for time travelers, but they're pure hell for movie reviewers.
- While the plot of Primer may necessitate a primer of its own, I will admit that I was impressed at the film's creative take on time travel. Basically, it's a lot more work than just sitting in a bathtub and pulling the lever. Additionally, Abe and Aaron were interesting as a couple of obviously Texan engineering types who would be out of their depth in a kiddie pool. Seriously, would you trust guys who wear ties in a garage to build "the most important thing that any living organism has ever witnessed?" It's difficult to imagine that they'd succeed, but I suppose people said the same thing when director/writer/lead actor Shane Carruth made Primer for only $7,000.
