Since this weekend only saw the release of R.I.P.D. and Reds 2 (neither of which I think people are exactly clamoring for a review of) I decided to focus on some smaller indies I watched a couple weeks ago but haven’t gotten around to reviewing…
Note: This is Shane Carruth’s follow-up to the huge cult film Primer (which takes at least three viewings before you really get it) and is currently available on Netflix after a microscopic theatrical release in late April.
What Works: The film follows a particularly ambiguous identity thief who grows worms that can somehow take over a person’s brain and let him control them, and are somehow tied to a pig farm. Actually, that’s the first ten minutes. After he pulls off a successful scam on Amy Seimetz’s TV producer, the film really shifts to following her shattered life and attempts to put it back together with a man (Shane Carruth) who may have been victim to the same thing. Carruth the director knows how to stage a science fiction scene so it feels like a docudrama, a neat trick, and the opening minutes hum with that realistic feel. Unfortunately…
What Doesn’t Work: The rest of the movie is as deliberately confusing as possible, yet not likely to appeal to the same demographic that really loved Primer. Primer was all about cold, complicated science that kept overlapping until it worked your brain around the track like a hamster on a wheel. Upstream Color is more of a mood piece, a visual tone poem that makes Terrence Malick movies look plot-heavy. It’s all whispers and flowing shots and gorgeous set pieces that never really add up to a coherent hole. In short: Primer is for the hardest core of geeks and Upstream Color is the most experimental of art films.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Is this film worth watching? Yes, if you go for experimental narratives that can try people’s patience. Lucky, I do, but I will admit that for every person who likes this there will be three who don’t.