Wonderful dramatic depiction of time travel

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2009)

After suffering blackouts when he was a kid, Evan (Kutcher) finds by reading his journal he can alter the past by travelling back in time.
The art of time travel has been developed in cinema throughout its entirety. In the 1960's Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke showed man's development with a fantastic cut from apes to spaceships in 2001: A Space Odyssey and Richard Kelly thrived on his Donnie Darko creation by sending the character threw wormholes to alter time in 2001.
Both films astounded movie fanatics and hoping for more of the same we trundled along to see Punk'd presenter Ashton Kutcher star in another sci-fi time travelling twisting drama, and we were treated to yet another fantastic mystery.
This 2004 release still sparks debates with its complex dealing with time travel and the approach to it. When Evan reaches his mid-twenties he realises he can travel back in time to alter circumstances just by reading his own notes. The shaking camera alerts us to his powers and we are soon in the heart of a complex mystery as we follow Evan in a voyage of discovery to see what really happened when he suffered from blackouts as a kid.
There are shocking turns of events that unfold as we and Evan come to realise the truth. As well as conveying the concept of time travel, The Butterfly Effect aims to preach through its real life issues such as paedophilia, bullying, suicide and mental illness. It is a quite brutal piece of film making that does echo Kelly's sublime picture, but before the term carbon copy crosses your mind, there are some finer details to point out.
Donnie Darko after all, whilst dramatic and scientifically able to cope with illness and time travel, is much more light-hearted with in jokes and good nature. Bress and Gruber's picture is exceptionally dramatic and a lot more romantic. The whole pictures spurts out issues of love and lust and 'doing the right thing' and because of this goal, has shimmied itself away from Darko. Plus the nature of time travel is religiously connected here, a shocking and dramatic side issue connected with mental health.
The fantasy sequences for Evan when he first sees he can travel back in time are quite unnerving and surprising. The consequences of time alteration are very good. We are left guessing as to what has happened in the new world.
Kutcher we know is funny and a practical person but here we see his dark and dramatic side which fits in well with the narrative. Amy Smart fits the role of romantic interest well enough whilst Henson and Scott fit their respective parts independently and uniquely to give an energy of diverse opinions to proceedings.
There are 4 alternate endings and this is a review for the director's cut and after seeing this particular ending I find myself against seeing the other endings as it will take the shine off a fine debatable conclusion.