Directed by: Shane Carruth
Starring: Shane Carruth and Amy Seimetz
Plot: Two victims of a thieving hypnotist find themselves drawn to each other.
Review:
Out of all the trippiest movies I have seen, they are either taken at face value (like Fear and Loathing…) or they are something like Kubrick’s 2001, and there is an embedded meaning somewhere. This definitely seems like the meaningful kind, but I can’t pick that lock. Not even a theory. Maybe I am overthinking it. Usually I can come up with a theory, no matter how off base I am, but I cannot even begin to see the bigger picture here.
The first half of the movie involves Kris, a young professional being put in a hypnotic trance after being forced to ingest a worm. Her attacker screws with her for a couple of days and empties her bank accounts. Eventually, she finds herself wandering to a man who raises pigs. He removes the worm through a process involving his pigs (didn’t really follow that part). She then has to face her new reality (no job, no money) since she basically fell off the face of the Earth as far as anyone else is concerned. Kris is played byAmy Seimetz, and she does a really amazing job. Her half in/half out hypnotic state is full of confusion and understanding all at the same time, which doesn’t even sound possible. She helps carry the rest of the movie which is short on dialog but high on emotional impact.
After finding some solid footing, she meets Jeff, played by Shane Carruth. The two of them find each other inexplicably drawn together. And it IS inexplicable. Sometimes they have the best chemistry in the world, sometimes they are at each other’s throats. But either way they definitely feel magnetized together, as if there is literally no where else they could or should be.
The first half seems like a straightforward thriller with some sci-fi set dressing, very reminiscent of Carutth’s first flick, Primer. The second is where the trippiness unfolds. I’m still not entirely sure what was going on, but Kris and Jeff seemed to share memories of their past (ie they had the same stories), and they each obsessed over the same book, that facet was the most confusing for me. The implication is they both were victims of the same con man, and they were essentially suffering from the same side effects.
Have you ever tried to solve a crossword or a Sudoku and fail and then freak out about it? The movie is sort of like that. The plot is strategically confusing and can possibly leave you unfulfilled, but it does so in a way that makes you want to revisit it over and over again until you can crack the code. That is kind of where the artistry of Carruth’s Primer really came into play: the way the plot tricks you and begs you to figure it out. Upstream Color has that extra layer of emotional depth with a really outstanding leading lady. If nothing else you get a really dreary emotional roller coaster that leaves you feeling…..something, whatever that might be.
FYI: If you are having trouble and need answers, Shane Carruth has explained what is going on at a Q & A and Slate.com has the breakdown here
Rating: 9/10
What Else to Watch: Martha Marcy May Marlene is another movie about how someone can screw with an individual’s identity so badly that they find it hard to move forward. It also features a really amazing performance from its leading lady.
