The Butterfly Effect - Director's Cut [DVD]

This is an extremely clever, moving and well acted film, and a good antidote to the type of film in which changing the past is made to appear relatively straightforward. But it packs a major sting in the tail and is not one to watch if you want to be cheered up.The title "The Butterfly effect" is a reference to the behaviour of sensitive systems under chaos theory, and the film starts with the famous quote about how the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a tornado on the other side of the world six months later. The film could almost have been subtitled "Or: The Law of Unintended Consequences."The central character is Evan, a boy whose father and grandfather died in mental hospitals and who appears to have inherited a strange condition from them. Evan is portrayed brilliantly as a young adult by Ashton Kutcher, as a 7-year old by Logan Lerman, and as a teenager by John Patrick Amedori.As a boy Evan has blackouts at times of extreme stress when he does things which can be very strange and scary, and then has no memory of them. To try to help with this, his mother (Melora Walters) encourages him to keep a daily journal.Evan grows up to become a brilliant student, and then discovers than by reading his diaries and concentrating he can send his consciousness, including his adult memories, back to the time he was reading about. Then he realises that he can try to change the past.After the suicide of his childhood friend Kayleigh (played as an adult by Amy Smart) Evan sends his mind back to a traumatic childhood event, which he correctly identifies as the start of the process which put Kayleigh on the path to despair and premature death. At first it appears that he has succeeded in transforming her life for the better - but then a side effect of his actions causes something else to go horribly wrong.Each time Evan tries to go back to undo either one of the original life-wrecking mistakes which he or someone else had made, or the harmful results of his previous meddling, the butterfly effect - and the law of unintended consequences - means that a fresh disaster occurs. Evan does sometimes succeed in saving someone's life or happiness, but only at the price of devastating repercussions for another person.All three actors who play Evan bring him to life brilliantly, and the acting of the rest of the cast is also excellent. Direction, action and special events are first rate and the pace works very well. There is inevitably a lot of repetition of certain key events in Evan's life as he goes through them again and again, but it doesn't make the film boring because you're looking out for the changes or the explanation. And this film is much more plausible and grown-up than most time-travel movies. But it really does deliver a kick at the end.There was a "sequel" made a couple of years later called "The Butterfly effect 2" with a different cast of characters, and in which the central character has a similar condition to Evan. However, everyone I know who has watched them both says that the sequel is not nearly as good.Some great extras on the disc, particularly to sequences in which academics and film makers are interviewed about Chaos theory and about why we are fascinated by time travel stories.I can strongly recommend this as long as you're not looking for something sweet and cheerful.

The title is most apropos. Without spoiling, this film rides on the back of a very simple concept applied in the sci-fi context exploring the impact of small changes in one life having big impacts across multiple lives. It is really well constructed as a story and very solidly delivered. Overtones of Predestination, The Time Traveller's Wife, and a bunch of other films looking at how our destinies can change or be rewritten, this film stands on its own, runs at a brisk enough pace throughout, and is well worth a watch. Some strong content which may not suit everyone.

**CONTAINS ALTERNATIVE ENDING SPOILERS**Evan, played by Ashton Kutcher, goes through childhood experiencing strange black outs, and is advised to keep a journal. When he is older he realises he can "go back in time" to those occasions just by reading those parts of his journal. He deliberately chooses to go back to pivotal moments so that he can try and adjust the future - for his troubled friend Kayleigh (Amy Smart) in particular.So far so "believable" - so far as a film goes. I was happy enough to "believe" in Groundhog Day, Big, and The Time Travellers Wife etc.What made me so uncomfortable watching The Butterfly Effect was firstly: the unpleasant violence and aggression. Lenny, Kayleigh's brother, is a caricature of a young psychopath - I found it impossible to believe he wouldn't have been institutionalised. The creepy rapist guys in prison (surely lifted straight out of The Shawshank Redemption), the fat miserable kid, the doc in the white coat, the girl next door - they are all comic strip characters, and I couldn't believe in any of them for a moment. As for Ashton, I don't know if it was because of his strange stick-on looking beard, but I failed to understand a word he was saying, he mumbled so much.Second sticking point: I thought the acting of the entire cast was pretty dire, although Amy Smart made a valiant effort as did the ever reliable Eric Stoltz as the abusive father of Lenny and Kayleigh.Only the fact I had paid for the DVD, and occasional flashes of black humour, kept me watching to the end. Then I discover I have been watching the Director's Cut, and curiosity takes me to wiki to find out the alternative endings (as they are NOT all on "deleted scenes"). Here's one: after realising Kayleigh stayed with her abusive father to be near him, Evan deliberately alienates her so that she moves to live with her mother and therefore has a happy future for herself and brother. The other endings (as "deleted scenes") are just Evan and Kayleigh meeting when passing in street.Minus stick-on beard, obviously vastly improving his chances of happiness.

the new twilight

This film is very cleverly put together and requires some concentration. Ashton Kutcher is the main character Evan(also in Just married) and has always been close to Kayleigh (Amy Smart also in Road trip). As a child he suffers from blackouts and does not know what has happened to him. When he is older at college he discovers that he can travel back in time to where he had blackouts, (not by a time machine by the way). He discovers the horrific traumatic events that happened to him in his blackouts and trys to repair them but each time he alters something it has a caotic effect (caos theory - butterfly effect, butterfly fluttering its wings can cause a hurricane a million miles away hence the title of the film) and it messes up someones life. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is easily horrified or is sensitive about disturbing events to young children but in the end things are sorted out so some events never happen. If you saw this film in the cinema be warned as the director's cut has a completely different ending which i found much more disturbing. The original cinema version is missing from the discs although there are other alternate endings. If you want thrilling entertainment I suggest you buy this film.