It's the little details that count in the end...

Rating: 7/10 (1 June 2009)

This inventive thriller explores the chaos theory. In it, a man discovers that he has the power to travel back in time and re-act certain moments from his past, ultimately, changing the future. He finds out, however, that doing the right thing does not always ultimately end up improving the future. Where he may benefit, a friend may suffer or vice-versa. The message of the film is that you cannot play God. You cannot expect to create a Utopian future. Events unfold in life in a certain way and sometimes bad things need to happen for good events to unfold, or indeed very bad things can come of best intentions.
The main character in the film experiences black-outs as a child. Later in life he discovers that these black-outs serve as the portals for where he can re-enact pivotal moments and, hence, change history. His destiny and the destinies of those around him are inextricably affected by his actions in these brief moments. This is a fairly artificial framework for the story but it allows the film-makers to explore the idea of The Butterfly Effect (i.e. the concept that the smallest insignificant action could eventually result in a hugely significant outcome). The film successfully shows that it is not so simple to change history by changing small details of the past. Often, even greater horrors are unleashed unexpectedly. This film presents a whole host of outcomes. It incorporates many horrors that life can throw up â€“ child abuse, violence, mental illness, physical disability, prostitution, drug addiction, bullying, incurable illnesses, imprisonment and sexual assault. It also deals more generally with love and loss. These are all big issues but they are incorporated into the narrative well. The film successfully shows that cause and effect is not a simplistic thing.
I was very impressed with this film. As well as having a few interesting things to say about fate, it also works very well as a compelling mystery-thriller. Well worth checking out.