THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT [2004] review

The grave and dark tones in THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT were not at all what I was expecting of this movie.  I both like it when a movie is not what I expect it to be tonally and don’t like it…because I always pick a movie on purpose based on its expected tone to match my mood at the time of viewing.  That said, even though BUTTERFLY was much darker than my expectations for what it would be, after the very grim first act, I settled in and went along for the ride the dual directors sent me on.  

I’ve of course heard of Ashton Kutcher and the nonsense surrounding his celebrity, but had never really seen him outside of being Kelso, so again I had some prejudices that he’d just be a dufus, but for the most part he played his role quite well, though in the final scenes, I thought he was a bit weak.  I was most impressed with the child actors in BUTTERFLY.  Both the 7-year olds and the 13-year olds were impressive.

The time gimmick special effects worked for me, in particular how a large dose of new memories are absorbed.  BUTTERFLY owes a lot to GROUNDHOG DAY in structure, but the consequences are much more dire when Kutcher messes with time in BUTTERFLY.

I heard this movie had some cult status, and the ending of the movie justifies such a status if it does indeed exist, as well as the collection of motley characters.  No doubt the obese gothic roommate must be beloved.  For me, I just kept trying to imagine if my college roommate had been like that, could I have just rolled with it?  

There were only a few scenes I didn’t buy in BUTTERFLY, but for the most part its gimmicks work and the non-linear mystery was compelling nearly all the way through the end, by which time it become slightly predictably, but still ultimately satisfying.

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