Review of Jason Gendler's report on Primer.
Title: 'The perils and paradoxes of restricted time travel'
This discussion of Primer is generally acceptable, somewhat interesting, and admits to not understanding many key parts of Primer's secrets. It is apparent that the writer tries valiantly to impress us with extensive vocabulary. He tries very hard to differentiate the story into fabula, syuzhet, and non-chronological syuzhet. (One spelling error mentions putting a "weevil"(sic) into the time machine, rather than the Weeble.This is just a submission to a self-proclaimed intellectual internet magazine, not the New York Times.)
One thing I liked is his retelling of what we see on-screen during Primer.(although this part seems unnecessary to anyone who has already seen the film.) It is three pages long, but provides a great review of what is seen for those who haven't viewed the film recently or perhaps have had only one viewing. I am glad he agrees with me on one of the things many fans miss: during the conversation between Abe and Aaron with the small version of the time machine we hear a sentence coming from Aaron's recording playing through the earpiece. Most people claim it is just muffled dialogue, but it is nice to know it is not overlooked by everyone. (Jason marks it as 24:33).
Jason feels that the narration omits crucial details to understand everything that happens in the film. Yet, he looks to camera work(What??) to unveil his version of the story. He claims that time travelers are 'immune' from paradoxes but neglects to relate why his speculation does not apply to Granger.
A minor mistake is the frequently misidentified phone call which he states is "Aaron2 to Aaron1". It has been verified by Shane Carruth that this is Aaron2 calling Abe1 ( as in "The Primer Universe".) Carruth seldom will ever discuss these type of secrets, but I think he admitted this detail as Primer fans had already identified this correctly at the time.
Jason admits to being unclear which Aaron is seen in the film's ending. He claims that one can time travel "forward" and "backward" but clearly he just did not edit this sentence properly.( One could state that sitting in any cardboard box is 'time traveling forward'. Obviously, he just misspoke, easily forgivable. Blame the editor for not catching that error as well.)
Jason claims the bleeding ear and bad handwriting are because time travelers "shouldn't exist". This statement does not explain why this would not happen immediately to both time travelers. Jason expresses that the story is excessively complicated and clearly struggles with its difficulty. This is understandable. However, don't blame the director, blame the analyst.
Jason identifies the title Primer as the definition "a script". I think he meant to refer to: 'the elementary composition of the conversational structure' (an alternate dictionary definition), but was just a bit too quick to conclude his research of the title process.
Jason returns to his favorite subject: camera work. Due to Abe's statement that 'Parabolas are important', Jason goes to great lengths to find parabolas in the film. He focuses on Aaron with the basketball, identifying an 'elliptical path' ??? Then he describes the round water fountain as 'parabolic-shaped' ???(But a circle is not a parabola.) When the camera moves on a track, again a "parabolic manifestation"??? He overlooked Carruth's explanation for the tracks when he explained it was relatively cheap and made it easy to keep the camera in focus while moving. Jason feels that when the camera pans from left to right, time is going forward; while time goes in reverse when the camera pans from right to left. Why is left up to our imagination. This part is insane. How did this get accepted?
Jason sees 'jump cuts', but identifies them without any explanation. They are merely "bizarre". Later, he states they could be "an allusion to time travel". Yet the who, what, why and when are still a mystery. I like how detailed he is in identifying three shots out of order in the famous phone call to Abe scene. However, he fails to identify this as evidence of Aaron's time travel.
In his conclusion, Jason sees Primer as having "new and interesting ideas about the possibility of time travel". However, what fans want most, he describes as "conundrums that are open to multiple interpretations". Perhaps it takes a true fan, rather than a student from a film school to identify what needs to be explained about Primer. When this was written, Shane Carruth could at least know his secrets were still safe.(At least until 2008 when the Primer Universe book was released). This article didn't excite anyone in the Primer community (and for good reason). It lacks the depth that is needed. Even in his observations, he fails to clarify the purpose and intent behind the "mysterious movements" of the camera or basketball. It seems the film's "Byzantine nature" prevented Jason from having a clear analysis of the restrictions of time travel in Primer. Perils indeed.
