I have no idea what I just watched.  The movie is called Primer (2004), and I found it on a list claiming to be comprised of the fifty-three best movies under ninety minutes.  There are a few on it that I reviewed for The Legionnaire previously, and a couple others I will get to, evetually.  In returning to the list, I looked at the blurb for today’s film and thought a time travel flick could be okay.  They are usually bad, at least in my opinion, outside of the ones that do not take themselves seriously like the Back to the Future trilogy.  Primer is of the more dramatic variety, and I got lost not long into its short run time.  I am going to attempt to describe it to you, but if what I write begins to not make sense, please do not blame me.  I am simply a messenger.

There are four guys in Primer who look like every employee you see in Office Space (1999), but are trying to build some kind of technology start-up company out of Aaron’s (Shane Carruth) garage.  Most of what takes place early in Primerhappens in this location, which should tell you much about the film’s budget and status with its cinematic peers.  Aaron’s main confidant in their project is Abe (David Sullivan), with the other two being people with names not worth mentioning.  I say this because, for whatever reason, Aaron does not want to include them in their advancing work.  So, what is it that they are trying to make?  It appears they do not know, and if they are clueless, then how can I be expected to tell you?  There is a sequence that sees them doing a bunch of science stuff, saying science things, and making science-looking apparatuses.  Eventually, it culminates in a metal box that, somehow, can time travel, or at least stuff inside it does . . . I guess.  There is something about a fungus, which Abe discovers is growing inside the device at a faster rate than it should, and this is what tips him off that something heretofore scientifically unheard of is happening.  His first move is to tell Aaron about it, and once they go through the stuff about the fungi growth rate and whatever else that is said, he decides he needs a little more convincing.  Thus, they set timers on their watches, put them inside the machine, and witness them tick off more seconds than what they spend inside . . . I think.  Whatever it is that occurs, they decide that it is now time for them to build a bigger version and test it out on themselves.  This is the point at which things go from complicated to impossible to understand.  The first moment that truly had me saying “Huh?” is when, while parked along a busy road, sitting in the bed of Abe’s pick-up truck, and drinking fountain drinks (as you do), they decide that they need a climate-controlled environment for their time machines.  Conveniently, they are next to a U-Haul storage facility, but when they finally notice this ideal location, Aaron sees himself in his binoculars carrying an oxygen tank into the same facility . . . you know, because everyone just drives around with a pair of binoculars.  From here, it appears that Abe has already time traveled, and has a device already sitting in one of the storage rooms.  It does not take long for them to whip up a second one for Aaron.  Their first act is to get stock tips from the future, then go to the past, invest, and the reap the rewards.  This is the trickiest part of them all.  Because of fears of running into their past selves, whenever they travel back a day, they have to spend it in a hotel room until the point at which they get into the time machine.  Then they return home as if doing their daily work routine.  This is the best I can come up with in the moment.  If any of you have seen this movie and wish to correct me, please feel free to comment below.  Still, I have only just begun to get lost in the plot.  As they get better at what they are doing, Aaron decides he wants to use the machine to right some personal wrongs.  Abe says this is a bad idea, and the matter is dropped, but it lingers for Aaron.  It has something to do with punching a guy in the nose, and I think this potential victim is somebody who had withheld funds from their company.  Another problem, or what the movie tells you is a problem, is when Aaron forgets to not bring his cell phone with him when he time travels.  There is something about having two of the same phone at one point in time, and how this affects the network, but dash if I could see why this is a threat.  No matter my opinions on the matter, Abe tries to prevent Aaron from time traveling, only to find that Aaron is a step ahead of Abe.  There is then a sequence where it looks like they are trying to kill each other before they put aside their differences for a different cause.  This involves Abe’s girlfriend Rachel (Samantha Thomson), and somebody pulling a shotgun on her at a party.  It looks like they are successful, which is enough for Aaron to want to keep going in using the device.  Abe is less thrilled by this notion.  Thus, they decide to part, with Abe ending up in another country . . . or something.

So, yeah, that is the best I could do with Primer.  If you look at its Wikipedia page, you will see an explanation of how time travel works in it.  It does not make any sense to me still, but perhaps you will have more success with it? Nonetheless, this does raise a certain theological question fit for this Catholic reviewer: how does one handle the kind of power wielded by Aaron and Abe?  Luckily, we do not have to have a fully formed answer for this because time travel is a fantasy.  Still, it exists in the murky world of this movie, and I will thus answer my own question.  The first thing our two main characters do is try to use it in a manner that probably any of us would do: for financial gain.  This is likely the more benign of the machine’s applications, particularly since they do this by playing the stock market.  Beyond this, Aaron and Abe’s desires diverge.  Aaron is more of a crusader, while Abe wishes to do as little as possible to impact the world.  In fact, the latter refers to his actions as wanting to take himself “out of the equation.”  There is something to be said about this ala St. Thérèse of Lisieux.  She was a French nun of the late nineteenth century who championed doing little things for God, but with great love.  Of course, Abe’s motivations are not that specific, but in this philosophical context he can at least be applauded for not wanting to make as big of an impact on the world.  This is not to say that the kinds of good deeds Aaron wants to do are bad.  At the same time, even the best of intentions can have unintended negative consequences.  This is something that Abe at least seems aware of, and wants to treat the use of the machine accordingly.  Either way, if such travel were possible, it should probably not be used.  Only God can perceive time in this manner, and do so correctly.  This is why the thought of such a device is dangerous.

From reading my third paragraph, you might think that Primer makes some sense.  I assure you that it does not.  If you want your brain to hurt, or potentially fall asleep, then by all means knock yourself out.  Otherwise, I would stay away from this one.