THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT – Eric Bress / J. Mackye Gruber
Did you ever imagine going back in time and changing the course of events there? That’s what Evan (Ashton Kutcher) does in this movie – several times. Since he was a child, he was suffering from blackouts, and later he discovers how to remember what happened during this blackouts – he “goes back there” and tries to fix his life – and the lifes of his mother and his friends Kayley, Lenny and Tommy. But the results are not exactly what he had in mind, and so he “goes back” again and tries again, and again …
Basically, this is an old Science-Fiction Idea, and if you have seen “Back To The Future” you know the concept. Except in “The Butterfly Effect” there is no technical gadget to travel back in time, it all happens through Evans mind, a god-like gift (or curse) he inherited from his father (who ended in an institution). It’s also much darker and more mature than “Back To The Future”.
Of course there are plot-holes which are inherent to the theme of time-paradoxes, so you have to ignore them to enjoy the movie – there is no way to deal with paradoxes logically.
Ultimately, it’s a story about love and sacrifice, and although the title and the beginning of the movie refer to Chaos Theory, it has nothing to do with that, so don’t expect any insights into it here!
The end probably will leave you somewhat unsatisfied, which is not astounding – in the Director’s Cut, there is an alternate ending, where Evan makes the ultimate sacrifice …
