Shane Carruth.
Shane Carruth is a director, writer, composer and actor, and has directed films such as Primer (2004) and Upstream Color (2013), with another film still being developed called The Modern Ocean that seems to have been put on the back burner, holding a star-filled cast. His work is unique and captivating, and since watching Upstream Color, frankly, I haven't stopped thinking about it.
He broke through with his head-spinning take on time travel in Primer, the story of 2 men who accidentally discover time travel and become trapped in a loop, trying to rectify their mistakes.
I watched Upstream Color first, and was taken aback by the creativity, and near lack of a dialogue throughout the film. The stories that Shane conjures are completely unique to anything I've seen, and I've found the representation of his stories alienating, which makes them all the more enticing.
Also inspiring is that in Shane's films he will take on most roles in production as writer, director, producer, composer and a main character in both Primer and Upstream Color. This is a result of low budgets, but some would consider this too much of a hurdle to overcome, yet Shane took on the workload and still managed to create masterpieces in film.
Shane started off with making flight simulations, but has been a quiet about his personal life and hasn't revealed much. Steven Soderbergh, director of films such as Ocean's Eleven and Contagion, described Shane as "the illegitimate offspring of David Lynch and James Cameron." [1] Shane secured Soderbergh and Fight Club director David Fincher to produce his next project, A Topiary, however Carruth was unable to raise the $14 million budget for the film, and it has since fallen untouched, and he described it as "the thing I basically wasted my whole life on" and that it broke his heart [2]. The aforementioned The Modern Ocean is a film about disputes over shipping routes, with a cast of Tom Holland, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe and Anne Hathaway. Holland described it as "the craziest idea for a movie" and "the best script [he's] ever read". [3] By this judgement from the actor, fans of Carruth are left to hope that The Modern Ocean doesn't become another A Topiary.
Shane's films have inspired me to look at film at a different perspective. I have been used to film and television handing the story to the viewer on a silver platter, and although I am aware of films being non-linear (obvious examples I can think of are Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, or Adaptation by Spike Jonze), the representation of this in Primer makes the viewer feel as though they have been left to 'fend for themselves' in relation to figuring out what is happening on screen, and this alienation is something that is different from films such as Pulp Fiction. Also notable in Upstream Color, the lack of dialogue or monologue let's the viewer interpret the film how they like, and although you get the idea that Kris and Jeff are feeling the same emotions as the pigs that shared the roundworm with them (if you're unaware of the plot, here's the Wikipedia page), fans have considered that because of Carruth's past as a math major, the film was a nod to the Theory of Everything in physics. [1] I think giving the viewer this freedom is quite unusual but I find it intriguing.
I don't think this format would fit TV nearly as well as film. This makes me think of how TV is classically made so that the viewer can get up and leave the room and come back and still understand what's happening, yet film is meant for people to sit down and direct all their attention to it for 90 minutes in a dark room. I feel as though with Fargo, it's almost breaching the line between these. It's a cinematic TV programme- and what I take from this is that it requires more attention than usual. However, I feel that non-linear narratives and alienating and surreal plot lines are still quite firmly a film technique and it won't be merging it's way into television soon. This said, I won't be taking that from Carruth's films and bringing it to my own project. However what I do want to bring is his passion. You can tell from his films that he really believes in his stories, and when talking to The Verge about A Topiary he said how it broke his heart. I am not planning on letting Fargo break my heart, however, I want to be able to believe in my story, and believe in the people I'm working with to create something better than any of my other projects. I have projects that I'm very proud of, and ones I know I could have done more better than I did, and I want to add this one to the list of projects that went 'better than expected'.
[2] Miller, R. (2013). Filmmaker Shane Carruth talks 'Upstream Color' and making movies like albums. [online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2013/4/10/4208658/interview-shane-carruth-upstream-color-primer [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].
[3] Chitwood, A. (2017). Tom Holland Says Shane Carruth’s ‘The Modern Ocean’ Is the Best Script He’s Ever Read. [online] Collider. Available at: http://collider.com/tom-holland-the-modern-ocean-current-war-interview/#benedict-cumberbatch [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].
He broke through with his head-spinning take on time travel in Primer, the story of 2 men who accidentally discover time travel and become trapped in a loop, trying to rectify their mistakes.
I watched Upstream Color first, and was taken aback by the creativity, and near lack of a dialogue throughout the film. The stories that Shane conjures are completely unique to anything I've seen, and I've found the representation of his stories alienating, which makes them all the more enticing.
Also inspiring is that in Shane's films he will take on most roles in production as writer, director, producer, composer and a main character in both Primer and Upstream Color. This is a result of low budgets, but some would consider this too much of a hurdle to overcome, yet Shane took on the workload and still managed to create masterpieces in film.
Shane started off with making flight simulations, but has been a quiet about his personal life and hasn't revealed much. Steven Soderbergh, director of films such as Ocean's Eleven and Contagion, described Shane as "the illegitimate offspring of David Lynch and James Cameron." [1] Shane secured Soderbergh and Fight Club director David Fincher to produce his next project, A Topiary, however Carruth was unable to raise the $14 million budget for the film, and it has since fallen untouched, and he described it as "the thing I basically wasted my whole life on" and that it broke his heart [2]. The aforementioned The Modern Ocean is a film about disputes over shipping routes, with a cast of Tom Holland, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe and Anne Hathaway. Holland described it as "the craziest idea for a movie" and "the best script [he's] ever read". [3] By this judgement from the actor, fans of Carruth are left to hope that The Modern Ocean doesn't become another A Topiary.Shane's films have inspired me to look at film at a different perspective. I have been used to film and television handing the story to the viewer on a silver platter, and although I am aware of films being non-linear (obvious examples I can think of are Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, or Adaptation by Spike Jonze), the representation of this in Primer makes the viewer feel as though they have been left to 'fend for themselves' in relation to figuring out what is happening on screen, and this alienation is something that is different from films such as Pulp Fiction. Also notable in Upstream Color, the lack of dialogue or monologue let's the viewer interpret the film how they like, and although you get the idea that Kris and Jeff are feeling the same emotions as the pigs that shared the roundworm with them (if you're unaware of the plot, here's the Wikipedia page), fans have considered that because of Carruth's past as a math major, the film was a nod to the Theory of Everything in physics. [1] I think giving the viewer this freedom is quite unusual but I find it intriguing.
I don't think this format would fit TV nearly as well as film. This makes me think of how TV is classically made so that the viewer can get up and leave the room and come back and still understand what's happening, yet film is meant for people to sit down and direct all their attention to it for 90 minutes in a dark room. I feel as though with Fargo, it's almost breaching the line between these. It's a cinematic TV programme- and what I take from this is that it requires more attention than usual. However, I feel that non-linear narratives and alienating and surreal plot lines are still quite firmly a film technique and it won't be merging it's way into television soon. This said, I won't be taking that from Carruth's films and bringing it to my own project. However what I do want to bring is his passion. You can tell from his films that he really believes in his stories, and when talking to The Verge about A Topiary he said how it broke his heart. I am not planning on letting Fargo break my heart, however, I want to be able to believe in my story, and believe in the people I'm working with to create something better than any of my other projects. I have projects that I'm very proud of, and ones I know I could have done more better than I did, and I want to add this one to the list of projects that went 'better than expected'.
Bibliography
[1] Maerz, M. (2013). A mysterious director returns, in living 'Color'. [online] EW.com. Available at: http://ew.com/article/2013/03/29/mysterious-director-returns-living-color/ [Accessed 29 Jan. 2018].[2] Miller, R. (2013). Filmmaker Shane Carruth talks 'Upstream Color' and making movies like albums. [online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2013/4/10/4208658/interview-shane-carruth-upstream-color-primer [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].
[3] Chitwood, A. (2017). Tom Holland Says Shane Carruth’s ‘The Modern Ocean’ Is the Best Script He’s Ever Read. [online] Collider. Available at: http://collider.com/tom-holland-the-modern-ocean-current-war-interview/#benedict-cumberbatch [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018].
I still think about Primer and it was years ago I watched it! Head spinner!
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