The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Directed by: Eric Bress, Mackye Gruber | 113 minutes | drama, thriller, science fiction | Actors: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, John Patrick Amedori, Irene Gorovaia, Kevin Schmidt, Jesse James, Logan Lerman, Sarah Widdows, Jake Kaese, Cameron Bright, Eric Stoltz, Callum Keith Rennie

Sometimes you come across a film that you expect absolutely nothing from, but which pleasantly surprises you completely unexpectedly. The print has everything against it, but turns out to be a genuine ‘sleeper hit’. ‘The Butterfly Effect’ is such a movie. The story of the print can best be described as a drama film with a time travel element.

The film tells the story of Evan Treborn (Kutcher). Like his father Jason, Evan possesses a special gift. The boy can travel in time. That seems nice, but the opposite turns out to be true. Ever since his childhood, Evan has suffered from ‘black outs’, with his gift he hopes to find out what happened to him then. Every time Evan travels back in time, his memory is damaged. It also quickly becomes apparent that rummaging through history has unpleasant consequences for the future. The boy soon finds out as he tries to fix his past mistakes and gets into deeper and deeper trouble.

The idea of ​​time travel is not new. In fact, many science fiction films have had the same premise as this one. But ‘The Butterfly Effect’ is refreshingly different from its genre contemporaries. This print is not so much about the ‘sci-fi’ reality of time travel, but about the dramatic consequences of messing with history.

And that original approach has resulted in a surprisingly oppressive film that mixes all kinds of genres in a satisfying way. You can’t put the production in one box, because ‘The Butterfly Effect’ has its own face and character. If you have to place the print in a category, then a psychological thriller is perhaps the best description. Even if you miss the film with that.

You will quickly notice that this film has a very dark and gloomy character. The repressed childhood memories of the main character are not an everyday occurrence that you encounter in a ‘normal’ Hollywood film. Topics such as pedophilia, suicide, self-mutilation and insanity are heavily loaded themes that not many directors venture into. It is to their credit that the filmmakers Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber do. Especially the way in which they portray this shows great class. Every time Evan uses his ability, he discovers that the future has changed. But his intervention produces insurmountable consequences that have a major impact on the course of the present. Even the smallest things make the biggest changes.

‘The Butterfly Effect’ plays with the concept of the same name from chaos theory: “A butterfly stroke in the Amazon forest can trigger a tornado in the Atlantic Ocean.” The theory says it all, it creates chaos. The unpredictability of Evan’s intervention makes for tense moments. It keeps on guessing which character will fall victim to the mess in the past again. And in what way. In addition, the film also leaves you in the dark about what happened during Evan’s ‘black outs’ at the beginning of the story. And when you finally discover the true facts, the print surprises you again with the completely adapted life course of the characters. The great thing about the film is that despite the ‘flatness’ of the characters you always remain involved in their actions. Because of the time travel you see the same characters again and again, but in a greatly changed form. Their behavior is always different, because of their ever-changing life histories thanks to Evan’s hands.

It is thanks to the cast that the worries of the characters remain so interesting. It is mainly the young actors such as Jake Loyd, Logan Lerman and Sarah Widdows who act very convincingly. The three child actors play Evan, Tommy and Kayleigh at the age of 7. Their performance is very impressive and comes across as very natural. In this film you are not ‘treated’ to extremely cute children with happy giggles, but to normal children who also have their bad sides. It only enhances the realism of the film. The actors who play the three main characters at the age of 13 are also well cast. John Patrick Amedori, William Lee Scott and Irene Gorovaia honestly play three children who are well into puberty. Their playing is unpolished and comes across as strong. You see real people and not smooth, flat Hollywood characters.

The biggest surprise is the lead role of Ashton Kutcher. This former fashion model plays the role of the grown-up Evan in a particularly understated way. ‘The Butterfly Effect’ is Kutcher’s first major role. Before this production, the actor was mainly in screaming, lousy comedies like “My Boss’s Daughter” and the even more disastrous “Dude, Where’s My Car?” to see. For the general public, the man is best known for his MTV program ‘Punked’. Kutcher abandons the chaotic mannerisms of his performance and film career entirely in his role as the tormented Evan. The actor’s playing is very sober and remarkably natural. Something you would soon expect from a person like Kutcher who is now not known for his carefully chosen roles and adolescent humor.

In addition to Kutcher, Amy Smart and William Lee Scott also perform well. Their acting is solid and pure. Actor Ethan Suplee deserves a special mention. Suplee is an obese man of about 150 kilos. It’s a relief to see a fat person in a normal, respectful way in a Hollywood movie for once. Suplee plays a nice role as an alternative punk and roommate of Kutcher. The actor Eric Stolz also deserves credit in his role as a pedophile father, a role that many actors do not dare to take on. So you can safely conclude that the acting in ‘The Butterfly Effect’ is of a high level. That is also necessary in a print like this that relies heavily on the portrayal of the protagonists. For spectacular action or heavy special effects, you should not watch this film.

Not that ‘The Butterfly Effect’ doesn’t look spectacular, on the contrary, but the beating heart of the film is the dramatic content of the film. Yet you don’t have to be bored visually, the print looks well cared for. The production is full of beautiful colors and has some nice visual finds. For example, the letters in Evan’s diaries, which allow him to time travel, start to shuffle and the environment around him starts to vibrate. The melting colors that follow look strange, but spectacular. Small details like the screeching sound, jerky flashbacks and the nosebleed Evan gets after he changes history also look good.

‘The Butterfly Effect’ is a strong, exciting and intense film. With this debut film, the directors have made a very inventive and successful print, which will not be equally accessible to everyone. The depressing theme isn’t exactly the standard work you’d expect from the stables of the American film industry. But if you give this film a chance, you will be immersed in a dark fairytale that will stay in your head for days. Impressive movie.