The Butterfly Effect

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For other uses, see Butterfly effect (disambiguation).

The Butterfly Effect The Butterfly Effect poster.jpg
IMDB Page (external link)
Writer:	J. Mackye Gruber, Eric Bress
Starring:	Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz
Director:	Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Music by:
Distributor:	New Line Cinema
Release Date:	2004 (USA)
Runtime:	113 mins
Language:	English
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The Butterfly Effect is a 2004 American sci-fi/drama movie starring Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz and others of New Line Cinema presents. The Butterfly Effect is directed and written by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber.

The title most likely alludes to the butterfly in Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder", in which a small change triggers a large series of ripple effects. Ten years later, this concept was then coined "The Butterfly Effect" by Edward Lorenz; see Chaos theory and butterfly effect. The title is also metaphorical for the appearance of brain scans which resemble a butterfly.

The film's tagline is: Change one thing, change everything.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Plot Summary
2 Plot
3 Cast
4 Comparison
5 External links

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Plot Summary

Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) is a man who suffered traumas as a boy (John Patrick Amedori), but whose recall of events is obscured by blackouts. While searching for an answer to heal his emotional wounds, he finds that when he reads from his adolescent journals, he travels back in time, and is able to essentially "redo" parts of his past. There are consequences of his choices he then propagates back to the present. As he continues to do this, he realizes that even though his intentions are good, the actions he takes always have unintended consequences.

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Plot

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The age of seven

In his childhood, Evan Treborn begins to experience sudden memory blackouts. His mother, Andrea Treborn, fears that he might have inherited his father's mental disease. His father, Jason Treborn, is currently kept in the asylum. However, medical check-up doesn't confirm Andrea's suspicions. His doctor advises Evan to keep a diary, so he could train his memory. Evan follows the advice.

The first blackout happens in the school while Evan is drawing a picture of his future profession. The picture shows a man with a knife, standing over several bodies covered in blood. Evan's teacher is rather worried and shows the picture to Andrea. But Evan doesn't remember what he drew.

The second blackout happens at home, when Andrea accidentally sees her son holding a knife. Again, Evan doesn't remember what he took it for.

The third blackout happens when Evan is at the Millers' place (The Millers are his neighbors). George Miller offers him to take part in making a movie about Robin Hood. Then a flash - and Evan is standing in the cellar of Miller's house, naked. By his side stands Kayleigh Miller, similarly dressed. Apparently, they were tricked or forced to participate in the porn movie.

The fourth blackout happens when Evan comes to see hi 1000 s father at the clinic. The meeting starts as it should, but all of sudden a flash - and Evan finds himself on the floor, and Jason trying to strangle him. The guards burst in and, while trying to calm Jason, accidentally kill him.

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The age of thirteen

Kayleigh and Tommy's parents get divorced, their mother moving to her new family. The children are offered a choice of whom to stay with. Kayleigh chooses her father, in spite of his attitude, because she doesn't want to part with Evan. Tommy follows her.

The fifth blackout happens when Evan spends his time with the Millers and Lenny Kagan. Together they find a hidden dynamite stick and decide to blow it up. They plant it in somebody's postbox and wait. Again a flash - Evan and others are running through the forest, and Lenny is catatonic. Evidently something terrible happened, but Evan is ignorant. Lenny is taken to the clinic in the state of deep shock.

The sixth blackout happens when Evan and Kayleigh come to see Lenny. They convince him to go for a walk. Unfortunately, on the walk they meet Tommy, who has become quite sadistic and is going to burn Evan's dog. The friends try to stop Tommy, and then a flash - Evan finds himself on the ground, and the dog is burnt. Lenny becomes completely autistic.

The Treborns move to another place. Evan promises Kayleigh to 'come for her', but apparently never keeps his promise. Kayleigh supposedly tries to come for Evan, but her father forbids her.

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The age of twenty

Evan studies at the university. Accidentally, he comes upon his old diaries (seemingly he hadn't ever tried to read them after they had been written) and reads about the events preceding the sixth blackout. In a flash, he returns to the past and learns that Lenny tried to free the dog, but couldn't untie the rope. Seeking to reproduce this strange effect, he reads an abstract about the fifth blackout and learns that while they were waiting, a woman with a child came to the postbox and were killed by the explosion. Waking from this dream, Evan finds that the cigarette burn he received in his memories has appeared in the reality. Talking with his mother, he learns that his father evidently had the same ability of travelling through time, only he did it with the help of old photos.

Evan finds Kayleigh and starts asking about the past; his questions stir up very unpleasant memories (she had been mistreated by her father), and the next day Kayleigh commits suicide. Evan decides to check if he can change the past through his diaries. He reads about the third blackout, jumps in the past and convinces George Miller to treat his daughter as she deserves and discipline Tommy, as he is going to become a sadist. The vision ends, and Evan returns to the present.

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The second timeline

In this new timeline, Evan and Kayleigh are lovers. Kayleigh has come to Evan's place, because in this timeline her father was good to her. However, Tommy, who has recently returned from the reformatory, has become a real maniac, as his father mistreated him. He traces Evan and Kayleigh and attempts to kill Evan. However, Evan manages to overcome Tommy and kills him in the fury. The police comes just in time to apprehend Evan, who is jailed. Supposedly, Kayleigh commits suicide.

Tricking his religious cellmate into helping him by producing stigmata (much the same way as the cigarette burn before), Evan manages to get hold of his diaries and returns in the sixth blackout. He gives Lenny a sharp iron shard so he can cut the dog's rope. Moreover, he succeeds in talking Tommy into releasing the dog. Suddenly Lenny strikes Tommy with the shard, killing him and then Evan wakes up.

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The third timeline

Lenny is kept in the clinic, being socially dangerous. Having left home after her brother's death, Kayleigh has occasionally become a prostitute. Evan supposes that if he could prevent the woman's death in the fifth blackout, Lenny wouldn't have gone mad. He returns to the past and rushes to the postbox. Tommy unexpecte 1000 dly follows him and brings the woman to the ground. The explosion hits only Evan.

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The fourth timeline

To his horror, Evan wakes up to find that he lost both of his arms to the explosion. Lenny has become a rather social young man, and Kayleigh is now his girl. Tommy has become quite religious. Evan selflessly decides that now they all are happy (except for him) and attempts suicide.

Later, he learns that his mother is dying of lung cancer, because she started smoking after his accident. Evan returns to the past once again(age 7), to destroy the dynamite prior to the postbox incident. Finding the stick, he tries to blow it up, but George Miller kicks it out of his hands and the explosion kills Kayleigh.

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The fifth timeline

Now Evan is kept in the clinic for killing Kayleigh. Moreover, he finds out that in this timeline, his diaries never existed, as he never wrote them! He makes his last attempt to fix everything, using an old film about the first acquaintance with Kayleigh. In the past, he tells Kayleigh some angry and threatening words, so that she gets frightened of him and they never become friends at all.

In the Director's Cut version of the film, he uses an old film of his birth, and in the past, he kills himself in the womb, so that he can't interfere in anyone's lives again.

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The sixth timeline

At last, everything is fine. Nothing stops Tommy and Kayleigh from moving to their mother's place, and they are raised properly. Tommy (once again) becomes quite religious. Lenny is Evan's roommate, as they study in the university. The paradox is that in order to save Kayleigh and the rest, Evan had to avoid being with her. Evan burns all his diaries and films, as he is content with the present. In the very end of the film, Evan passes by Kayleigh on a busy downtown street. She notices him and stops, but by the time Evan turns to look, she has already begun walking again. Although it is obviously painful, Evan realizes he must not follow her. The look on his face is grim and pale. A selfless but dejected Evan gulps and keeps walking. Kayleigh has been saved.

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Cast

Ashton Kutcher - Evan Treborn
Melora Walters - Andrea Treborn
Amy Smart - Kayleigh Miller
Ethan Suplee - Thumper
William Lee Scott - Tommy Miller
Elden Henson - Lenny Kagan
John Patrick Amedori - Evan Treborn at 13
Irene Gorovaia - Kayleigh Miller at 13
Kevin Schmidt - Lenny Kagan at 13
Jesse James - Tommy Miller at 13
Logan Lerman - Evan Treborn at 7
Sarah Widdows - Kayleigh Miller at 7
Jake Kaese - Lenny Kagan at 7
Cameron Bright - Tommy Miller at 7
Eric Stoltz - George Miller
Callum Keith Rennie - Jason Treborn

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Comparison

Ashton Kutcher and others have stated that this movie is a combination of two classics: Back to the Future (time travel elements) and Jacob's Ladder (mind vs. reality).

This is among many other famous movies such as The Matrix, Fight Club, Donnie Darko, Final Destination, Groundhog Day, American Beauty, Minority Report, with an existentialist manifesto.