Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Primer
Allison and I watched Primer last night, on the recommendations of Ted Chiang and Grayson Richardson (and were encouraged by the fact that Lucius Shepard spoke so highly of it), and we were absolutely floored. We were up half the night discussing the details, and picked up the conversation this morning for another round. Hands down the best time travel movie I've ever seen. Terrifically intricate and well thought out, Primer rewards careful viewing, with new aspects and angles of the plot suggesting themselves with repeated viewings. I've got my own theories about what point in the future Thomas Granger comes from, and what that suggests about Abe and Aaron's actions in timelines we don't get to witness. And my own conclusions about what the narrator's comments during the party--about how many times it took Aaron to get it "perfect"--suggest. But anyone that hasn't seen it should avoid all spoilers and see it immediately. This was one of those rare viewing experiences enjoyed for a longer time than it took to watch (the movie runs a total of 76 minutes, but I've easily spent four hours since just thinking about it). Highly recommended.