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Primer (2004)

PG-13  |   |  Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller  |  27 May 2005 (Spain)
7.0
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Ratings: 7.0/10 from 64,596 users   Metascore: 68/100
Reviews: 359 user | 141 critic | 25 from Metacritic.com

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.

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Title: Primer (2004)

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2 wins & 7 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Aaron
...
Abe
...
Robert
...
Phillip
Carrie Crawford ...
Kara
Jay Butler ...
Metalshop Worker
John Carruth ...
Man On Couch #1
Juan Tapia ...
Man On Couch #2
Ashley Warren ...
Hostess
...
Rachel Granger
Chip Carruth ...
Thomas Granger
Delaney Price ...
Laney
Jack Pyland ...
Aaron's Co-worker
Keith Bradshaw ...
Ashok Upadhyaya ...
Laboratory Technician
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Storyline

At night and on weekends, four men in a suburban garage have built a cottage industry of error-checking devices. But, they know that there is something more. There is some idea, some mechanism, some accidental side effect that is standing between them and a pure leap of innovation. And so, through trial and error they are building the device that is missing most. However, two of these men find the device and immediately realize that it is too valuable to market. The limit of their trust in each other is strained when they are faced with the question, If you always want what you can't have, what do you want when you can have anything? Written by Sujit R. Varma

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

27 May 2005 (Spain)  »

Also Known As:

Kapsül  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$28,162 (USA) (8 October 2004)

Gross:

$424,760 (USA) (17 December 2004)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Abe goes back in time and ends up regretting it. His surname is Terger, or 'Regret going backwards.' See more »

Goofs

Boom shadow is visible on the truck door when Abe and Aaron are at the gas station. See more »

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,...
See more »

Crazy Credits

Thanks to Scott Douglass for having the faith to invest in the final stages of marketing and post production See more »

Connections

Referenced in Brows Held High: What Is It? (2012) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

From Tinkering with Tools to Tinkering with People
15 October 2004 | by (Queens, NY) – See all my reviews

"Primer" starts out innocently like a "Start-up.com" docu-drama and the first part covers some of those same financial, friendship and entrepreneurial issues as computer geek engineers work out of of one of the partner's garage to perfect an invention.

But gradually, in this antiseptic atmosphere of white shirts, electrical experiments and tweaking mechanics, every human emotion, virtually as every seven deadly sin, except sloth, and beyond, starting with greed, takes them over.

Without any explanation to the audience, we gradually figure out that we're seeing a cleverer, low budget "Paycheck" or what "Ground Hog Day" played for laughs and an original "Outer Limits" episode did for irony (I didn't see "The Butterfly Effect" to see how it also dealt with time changes).

Rather this is an attempt to seriously examine the philosophical issues of chaos theory and how inventions can't be divorced from human frailties, both mental and physical.

Shane Carruth, as the lead actor/writer/director/producer is a true auteur--and could therefore give his nerd a wife and kid-- but perhaps an outside editor could have helped make the permutations a bit clearer as I didn't quite follow the intersections with outside characters. I followed enough to get caught up in the anxiety and suspense of each iteration.

It was amusing that I was the only woman in the audience.


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Message Boards

Recent Posts
Temporal Analysis of Primer being reposted mjyoung-2
What was Abe's Plan? joeproof16
Gibberish trottta
Primer is not complicated, it's obfuscated. (and good) Tim851
Think the problem was not its premise but the way it was filmed. blazetariq
Why create the big box in France? jpalmquist-99-955350
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