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The Primary Instinct

“I’m Stephen Tobolowsky, and I’ve been an actor for how many years I’ve been an actor.”

Blood is in the work of live storytelling, character actor Stephen Tobolowsky notes. Truly great storytelling commands the narrator just as much as it dictates the audience. The stage, perhaps more so than any other platform, extends a venerability for the performer. As by its very nature, it’s an invitation to project out, emote and — over the course of time —prove yourself to an audience by earning their undivided trust. And they, in turn, not only respect the admiration but constantly extenuate themselves. Their grasp is as firm as their grip can hold. They’re taken, shaken by every single sentence uttered, overcome by the resounding emotions laid within each one. Tobolowsky — his astute wit and bruised heart on full display here — throttles the audience as few others can with The Primary Instinct.

As a character actor, Tobolowsky has always hidden himself throughout different personalities performing as different professions. He’s played doctors and sheriffs both living and dead, insurance salesmen, music managers, principals, computer tech wizs, engineers and teachers, just to name a few he mentions himself. All of these ranging within the hierarchy going from the profession + first name, profession + last name found in comedies and dramas, respectively to simply a profession to a profession plus a number, which is so low you can get mistaken for the cleaning crew. Telling stories, as pointed out, merely remains something he does on the side. But of late, speaking on The Tobolowsky Files has defined him more than even his most prolific performances could ever do. He’s a masterful storyteller, knowing exactly where he needs to go and not afraid to push around, or explore where he can go in doing so. He seeks to find the compelling in the mundane, and the simplicity found in the most complex of ideas. And he does so with a care, gentle brilliance sweeping under you when you least expect it to arrive.

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David Chen, the producer behind the podcast making his directorial debut here, understands this better than anyone, ambling the way for Tobolowsky’s live Seattle one-man show at the crux of this documentary. Freeing the actor from having to stand behind — or beside — anything or anyone, this is entirely Tobolowsky’s moment. He turns the screen into a grand world stage for Tobolowsky’s eloquence to speak entirely for itself, and Tobolowsky commands it beautifully. The rich storytelling — constantly observant, always profound, often funny, typically sad, deeply mature but continuously resonant — is all his own. His voice is humble, genuine and true (“truth always trumps clever,” Tobolowsky says again and again), and while this may not be a surprise to many familiar with his show, it’s as warm a reminder as it is a fine introduction for those not in-the-know.

Gracefully navigating through various different moments in his life — more seemingly random than not — Tobolowsky and The Primary Instinct constantly remind us of the circular nature of existence. How time amusingly can become a series of spinning circles beyond our simple comprehension, until we finally catch up. Where little moments in time, like falling in love with a girl hiding in a refrigerator box at three, can drastically impact our lives many, many, many years later. As our bodies grow, our eyes, Tobolowsky discovered back in biology class, never change. We’re among the few — if not the only — species on Earth who have the ability to look at ourselves. Upon discovering their reflection in the water and inventing the mirror, Tobolowsky believes we must have come up with philosophy: another way we can see ourselves. Reflection sometimes doesn’t change things as much as it allows us to change ourselves. It’s just a matter of what they become. Or how we gleam their importance later on.  Tobolowsky thinks, through telling stories, we’ve allowed our pupils to evolve through the history of time. And our speaker is here to let us see where we’ve come through his own.

At the heart of The Primary Instinct is something quite simple: the exploration for what is good storytelling. Through a keen sense of surprise, humor and self-awareness, it all comes down to fundamental humanity. The presentation of Chen’s first film, coming in at a mere 74 minutes, is intentionally slight, but his benevolence and gratitude for Tobolowsky can always be felt. He’s wise enough to let the subject simply speak for himself, astute enough to know how to keep our attention undivided and always gracious enough to bask in the storyteller’s craft. He’s as eager and bedazzled by Tobolowsky as we are, but doesn’t let that distract him from the task at hand. He displays the same restraint and patience known to be found from the Slashfilmcast, and understands deeply how to make Tobolowsky’s astutely enticing storytelling as inviting as possible within its transition to a new medium. He’s a gifted storyteller in his own right, and proves his eyes have an exceptional journey of their own ahead of them behind the camera.

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The Kickstarter-backed project is laced with passion and sincerity within every moment, and though it’s not entirely cinematic by design, Chen knows as well as Tobolowsky what makes a good story is not just the presentation itself but the journey encompassing it. We need to feel as though we’ve come through the obstacles, lived in every moment as Stephen did, and made it through the destination with as much to gleam as he did. It’s a gorgeous thorough personality examination, proving well again how much can be contemplated and compelled from a little more than one hour of storytelling. Its depth exceeds no bonds, and it’s the kind of story set to bounce around inside the subconscious for days, perhaps weeks, on end. As mild an effort as it may be, The Primary Instinct is nevertheless an entirely gratifying exploration, encompassing as much theological weight as it can muster without losing sight on where it needs to go in its travels. It’s never merely just where you go, but how you find yourself getting there that matters most. It’s simple, but it’s always true — and that’s what makes good storytelling.

8/10

 

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Will Ashton is a staff writer for Cut Print Film. He also writes for The Playlist, We Got This Covered and MovieBoozer. He co-hosts the podcast Cinemaholics. One day, he'll become Jack Burton. You wait and see.

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