Compelling, disturbing but ultimately rewarding Sci Fi drama

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2008)

If you enjoyed a film called Frequency with Denis Quaid, you'll enjoy this one even more as long as you are prepared to journey into a more darker edged and at times very disturbing depths of the worst elements in society. This is primarily an intelligently executed drama where the time jump mechanism is used to highlight the dramatic consequences of people's lives from childhood to adulthood. It is an intriguing exploration of how people's personalities and life can be determined by the events of their childhood, environment and friends. The film then projects how people's lives drastically change from the "butterfly effect", i.e., when an element of the past is slightly change. As the film progresses, we are pulled by the scruff of your neck into a spiral dive towards hell with our flawed hero trying to "fix" things. With many twists and turns in the tunnel, the pace is quite relentless bringing us to what I feel is a superb, sad, clever but satisfying conclusion. The ending provokes different reactions so you may not feel about it the same way as I do but that is the film's power. I love time travel movies and this one is placed in my top 5. Highly recommended though be warned, it may be uneasy viewing at times due to a disturbing but essential element that drives the plot.