Cause and Effect

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2007)

"In the next 30 seconds you're gonna open 1 of 2 doors. The first door will forever traumatize your own flesh and blood."
This dark and brooding film is incredibly well presented with some superb performances. The theme can be summarized easily with the metaphor of throwing a stone in a pond. The ripples spread far and wide as a result of that small stone. The universal concept of time is a complex and difficult one to understand, it is however based entirely on cause and effect. Evan began to understand this after his first flashback. It is incredible to note that a tiny detail such as a whisper in someones ear can alter the present to such an incredible degree. The viewer is given a taste of the frustration of Evan as he is unable to produce the happy ending he craves so desperately. Addiction also plays a subtle role in the film as the powers of this butterfly effect are as seductive as the powers of God. Perhaps this makes it easier for the viewer to relate to Evan's emotions?
In the end however it becomes clear that a person's life is far too complex and variable to change successfully. This film reminds us that a small wrench thrown into a large machine can still be enough to damage it irreparably.