Surprisingly Deep and Powerful

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2004)

From the opening scene to the brilliantly powerful conclusion, The Butterfly Effect grips your heart and mind and takes you through an enthralling journey that will keep you guessing throughout the movie, and leave you bewildered at the end. The writers boldly explore the effects that childhood experiences have on a person, and how small changes in these experiences can cause a ripple effect to change that person's life. They also simulate the emotions of a man so lost that he doesn't even know himself, or his own past. But most importantly, they reveal how important sacrifice is in love and in life.
The film is a journey through the psychologically disordered mind of Evan Treborn and the lives of people close to him when he was young. Early on, a few specific traumatic experiences are revealed that shape the lives of Evan, his mother, and his childhood friends- except each incident has holes in it where Evan himself cannot remember what happened. After the prologue of Evan's childhood, a college aged Evan begins to find ways to try to regain the memory of these holes. In some ways he is successful, but as he tries to alter the past it just creates more problems in the present. As Evan unfolds the mystery of his own life, some pieces come together and others fall apart, but all of it grips the audience to what unfolds.
Although the acting is not exceptional on the whole and the story has a few minor plot holes, the film is easy to enjoy for the concept behind it and the power of the story. In the midst of Evan finding himself, a love so strong is revealed, and his passion for Kayleigh remains constant throughout the alternate realities created. We can truly learn about life and love from watching Evan's choices and how they create a ripple effect in his life.
If you are looking for a typical teenage comedy starring Ashton Kutcher, then look somewhere else. This film is for mature adults and deals with child abuse, prostitution, rape, psychological disorders, suicide, murder, and brief but strong unbridled violence. It is not a happy film that will make you feel good about yourself, but rather an experience that should really touch you in a deep way. I've heard a lot of negative things said about this film, but I strongly suggest that if you are interested you should check it out for yourself, because you may be quite pleasantly surprised. I know I was.
I give it an 8.34