FauxNixon

The Butterfly Effect is the must-see directorial debut from directors Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber, who worked previously together as a screenwriting team for Final Destination 2.  Ashton Kutcher, made famous by his role on That 70s Show, stars in this film as Evan Treborn, a man who periodically blacks out due to a rare neural disorder he shares with his institutionalized father.  Evan and his best friend Kayleigh Miller (Amy Smart from Road Trip and Rat Race), her brother Tommy (William Lee Scott), and Lenny (Eldon Henson), grow up in a hellish childhood environment and are all traumatized by a childhood incident where a woman and her baby are killed very gruesomely.  In an effort to help him recall blacked out memories, Evan begins to keep meticulous journals of his daily life.  Later, while reading the journals in college he discovers that, in addition to helping him remember the blacked out events, he finds he has the ability to change the incidents in question.  Evan begins trying to better the lives of his group of friends by changing the incidents he believes lead to their later depression, institutionalization, suicides, imprisonment, and general harm.  He soon discovers that every change he makes has grand consequences that often only worsen his friends’ fates.

Concisely put, the only element missing from The Butterfly Effect, is a more effective soundtrack.  Bearing that in mind, this film is a phenomenal journey through the lives of this group of friends and even with that minor flaw, it remains a gleaming treasure. While The Butterfly Effect is an incredibly impressive film, Amy Smart’s performance is particularly noteworthy as it really brings the raw emotional feeling of regret that permeates the film’s style and story.  Her character’s ever more dramatic tragedy is portrayed by Smart brilliantly.  This film has successfully brought Smart out of her supporting role shell and into her fuller potential as a great actress.   One might expect Ashton Kutcher to be a limiting factor in the overall quality of this film, but he is surprisingly competent in a more serious role and, while his performance doesn’t compare with Smart’s, he is able to hold his own.  The most important aspect of this film is definitely the direction.  The same raw emotional tension that was infused into the trailer is present throughout The Butterfly Effect, which only serves to draw the viewer ever deeper into the storyline.  Directors Bress and Gruber’s contribution combines a solid script, several great performances, and an emotional style of filming, skilled direction, and special effects that nicely compliment the story.  If you see only one movie this semester, make it The Butterfly Effect, and experience exceptional filmmaking.