Anyone who claims to fully understand Primer is a damn liar and they know it. Because, in Shane Carruth's low budget sci-fi, time travel (which is presented from a down-to-earth standpoint, lending the film a 'realism' unseen in other time travel movies) is warped and manipulated by two engineers themselves untrustworthy protagonists opportunistically looking to out-think each other and financially benefit from the process. Carruth's decision to structure his film like a dense puzzle leaves plenty of questions unanswered, such as how many versions of Aaron (Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) are roaming the Earth by the end of the film, and whether either of them can ever stop their doubles forming multiple alternate timelines. To explain Primer's time travel conundrum and eventual time loop(s), fans of the cult indie have helpfully drawn up diagrams, but there's no way of knowing if and how the two protagonists will ever break out of the circular headache they've got themselves in. The construction of failsafe devices, numerous timelines crossing over each other and the general distrust between Aaron, Abe and the audience mean it's impossible to come to any solid solution. But for those looking to have a go, may I direct you to the IMDb FAQ?
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
