Primer 2004

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Carruth challenges us to imagine the impossible, then asks us to consider the moral, ethical and spiritual implications of what we have witnessed, and put those considerations on equal footing with man's desire to go where no man has gone before. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The ingenious debut of writer-director Shane Carruth, who assembled the film on his home computer and also plays one of the two leads, is purposely designed to be a little bewildering. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Scary, puzzling, and different. Read more

Mary Brennan, Seattle Times: Intriguing but flawed. Read more

Neva Chonin, San Francisco Chronicle: By turns inventive, confounding and obtuse, it doesn't always work, but it challenges, nonetheless. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: The first thing Shane Carruth should have done as a director was fire himself as an actor, because I think he gives a terrible performance. Read more

Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Has such an engaging, offbeat first half that it's all the more frustrating when it gets lost inside its own convolutions and delayed revelations. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: What's impressive -- aside from the fact that Carruth got the thing made in the first place -- is that the movie's tone skates right between coherence and an appreciation for endless, even infinite possibilities. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: Incredibly confusing but oddly compelling. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: Mind-bending thrillers like Primer are terrific viewing with your teenagers. Maybe if you're nice, they'll explain the ending to you. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Alluringly knotty. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: This no-budget brainteaser from Dallas native Shane Carruth offers ample intellectual rewards. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: A dense and dazzling science-fiction mind-bender unassumingly dressed up in a tech geek's short-sleeved oxford shirt, pocket protector and safety goggles. Read more

Robert Dominguez, New York Daily News: An impressive, if muddled, first effort from writer-director-actor Shane Carruth. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: An ingenious first film made on a budget of about $7,000 by a former engineer and self-taught filmmaker about the perils of ingenuity. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: It takes a lot for a movie to surprise today's jaded, seen-it, bought-the- PlayStation-version sci-fi fan. Primer can. Let it. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It has all the hallmarks of an amateur production: questionable sound and picture quality, crude performances, and dubious editing. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It is maddening, fascinating and completely successful. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Carruth has made a fascinating first film and a solid foundation for things to come. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Leah McLaren, Globe and Mail: An unapologetically cerebral movie of ideas. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: It's one thing to admire what writer/director/composer/actor Shane Carruth wrought on his $1.98 digicam budget; it's quite another to have to sit through the mind-numbing results. Read more

Jessica Winter, Time Out: This film imagines its viewers to be smart, possessed of a decent attention span and game for a challenge. It doesn't happen all that often. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Despite its shortcomings, Primer remains watchable thanks to Carruth's dense and intriguing filmmaking. Read more

Dennis Lim, Village Voice: Its analog-egghead approach may be the freshest thing the genre has seen since 2001. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's dense, and in a way that doesn't begin to reward the effort required to untie it. Read more