Primer (2004)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Shane Carruth

Writer:

Shane Carruth (writer)

Release Date:

27 May 2005 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

If you always want what you can't have, what do you want when you can have anything?

Plot:

Four friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.

Plot Keywords:

Garage | Invention | Science | Headphones | Basketball Court

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Shane Carruth	...	Aaron
David Sullivan	...	Abe
Casey Gooden	...	Robert
Anand Upadhyaya	...	Phillip
Carrie Crawford	...	Kara
Jay Butler	...	Metalshop Worker
John Carruth	...	Man On Couch #1
Juan Tapia	...	Man On Couch #2
Ashley Warren	...	Hostess
Samantha Thomson	...	Rachel Granger
Chip Carruth	...	Thomas Granger
Delaney Price	...	Laney
Jack Pyland	...	Aaron's Co-worker
Keith Bradshaw	...	Clean Room Technician
Ashok Upadhyaya	...	Laboratory Technician
Brandon Blagg	...	Will
Jon Cook	...	Will's Cousin
David Joyner	...	Rachel's Date
Eric De Soualhat	...	Translator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Lucero Less	...	Seth (uncredited)

Directed by
Shane Carruth

Writing credits
Shane Carruth		(writer)

Produced by
Shane Carruth	....	producer

Original Music by
Shane Carruth

Film Editing by
Shane Carruth

Casting by
Shane Carruth

Production Design by
Shane Carruth

Sound Department
Shane Carruth	....	sound designer
Reggie Evans	....	location sound
David Ho	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Daniel Bueche	....	camera operator
James Russell	....	assistant camera
Anand Upadhyaya	....	camera operator

Other crew
Chip Carruth	....	caterer
Kathy Carruth	....	caterer
David Sullivan	....	production assistant

Thanks
Scott Douglass	....	thanks

Distributors

• THINKFilm (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• E.D. Distribution (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Notro Films (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Video Audio Project (VAP) (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2005) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2006) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Advanced Health Concepts  thanks for use of oxygen tanks
• Henley's Aircraft Services Inc.  thanks for permission to film
• Hilton Hotels  thanks for permission to film
• Richardson Public Library  thanks for permission to film
• U-Haul Storage  thanks for permission to film
• University of Texas at Dallas Department of Biology  thanks for permission to film
• University of Texas at Dallas Department of Electrical Engineering  thanks for permission to film
• Ziziki's Restaurant  thanks for permission to film

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief language.

Runtime:

77 min | Turkey:73 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Addison, Texas, USA

Trivia:

In the scene in which Abe-2 knocks out Abe-1 with nitrous oxide, the container he's holding is actually a rice cooker. Also, we see sleeping Abe's profile, but not standing Abe, because the latter was Shane Carruth standing in for David Sullivan.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Boom shadow is visible on the truck door when Abe and Aaron are at the gas station.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Aaron: [Sound of a phone ringing. Aaron, voiceover:] Here's what's going to happen. I'm gonna read this, and you're gonna listen, and you're gonna stay on the line. And you're not gonna interrupt, and you're not gonna speak for any reason. Some of this you know. I'm gonna start at the top of the page.
[pause]
Aaron: Meticulous, yes. Methodical, educated; they were these things. Nothing extreme. Like anyone, they varied. There were days of mistakes and laziness and in-fighting, and there were days, good days, when by anyone's judgment they would have to be considered clever. No one would say that what they were doing was complicated. It wouldn't even be considered new, except for maybe in the geological sense. They took from their surroundings what was needed and made of it something more.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 20th IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2005) (TV)

Incredible

You remember the first time you saw The Matrix (please, not the awful sequels) and you could barely keep up with what was going on, trying to piece together the pieces of what you were being told into a coherent story?

This movie was exactly like that. The first half or so is fairly linear (despite the frenzied Altman-esque style of everyone talking on top of each other), but then it gets WEIRD and it just absolutely blew me away. This film won a major Sundance award, and normally that means I won't like it (especially the normally pandering audience award winners) but this movie, and first-time filmmaker Shane Carruth, deserves absolutely everything it gets. I am just blown away.

Did you like Pi? If so, go see this one.

By the way, the attention to detail in the beginning is great. Often in thrillers with technical content, if you have a technical education you have consciously ignore all the stupid movie crud that they pull to make it into a good story. But this movie pulls off an incredibly believable technical story, with only a few distracting gaffs. That is, the tech jargon is good enough that you don't get distracted and can focus on the story line.

Final comment: Yes, it is very hard to follow the story line in this movie.

Obviously I'm not going to spoil it, but I think the following fact will help when the movie gets kind of hairy towards the end: Aaron is the dark-haired guy, Abe is the blond-haired guy.

This movie now has distribution and you should keep an eye out for it in the fall.