Chaos Theory

Plot synopsis:
Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) is a professional speaker who lectures on time management. He lives by example: perfectly maximizing his efficiency through scheduling and planning his own life down to the minute. One day when his wife Susan (Emily Mortimer) decides to set the alarm clock back 10 minutes, in hopes of giving her husband an extra ten minutes of time in the morning, she accomplishes the exact opposite. From missing the ferry to arriving late to his lecture on time management, Frank experiences an off day. While driving home, he sees a pregnant woman needing help getting to the hospital and he decides to offer the stranger a lift. At the hospital, Frank is asked to fill out some paper work. Not thinking much about his situation, he puts his own information down and the nurses at the hospital misunderstand and assume he is the father.
The following morning, before Frank arrives home, a nurse from the hospital calls attempting to reach him and his wife answers the phone. The nurse, in trying to contact who she thought was the father, leads Susan to believe it is Frank's baby and she presupposes he is cheating on her and leading a double life. When Frank arrives home, he is unable to clear up the misunderstanding and Susan throws him out of the house. Susan even refuses to speak to him, and only allows him to see their daughter after school. In an attempt to prove his fidelity to his wife by demonstrating that it is not his baby, Frank sees a doctor for a paternity test, but receives the diagnosis that he was never able to reproduce to begin with, since he has Klinefelter's syndrome.
A few days later, the stranger brings her baby to the Allens' house in hopes of thanking Frank for his kindness, only to find his wife at home. After the stranger introduces herself and her baby to Susan, she clears up the misunderstanding, but the damage is done since Frank now knows that their daughter is not really his. The tides change dramatically as Frank realizes that he was the one in the relationship who was faithful, and goes through a withdrawal as he tries to comprehend how his daughter could not be his and how wrong his life turned out when he believed that he has always stayed straight and narrow.
After giving a life-changing speech about living on whim at his own time management lecture, he decides to live his life based on chance from that moment on. He starts his reformed outlook on life with the simple idea of possibility and randomness by making his decision based on shuffling three index cards with written options and choosing one at chance. Through his journey, he learns more about love, friendship, faith, hope and life than he ever imagined.

Tags: romantic, flashback

Review:
This film is about a very organised man whose life is turned into chaos by an accidental revelation.Though there are a lot of comedic moments in the film, I think it is more of an drama about Frank finding out that organisation and efficiency does not make him any happier.
It never achieves greatness, but it is enjoyable throughout.Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) is a professional speaker who lectures on time management, and his life is perfectly ordered and scheduled, down to the minute.
Deciding that his strictly ordered life has done him little good, he begins to make multiple choice index cards, choosing one at random and doing what is written on the card.Reynolds is a very under-appreciated talent, and his work in this film is spot-on.
Not in the traditional Hollywood mode, this one takes us on a very unusual path towards self-actualization.Ryan Reynolds delivers by far his best screen performance as the OCD dad who seems to have the perfect family, job and life.
There's no bad guy, just a family and a friend who's lives are marked with ups and downs.Without giving anything away, the movie is about love, but not in finding or keeping it.
Then, one day Frank becomes a victim of circumstances so utterly beyond his control that he is forced to abandon his old way of thinking and adopt a new philosophy of life altogether, that of throwing caution to the wind and letting his every mercurial whim determine the course of his actions (he shuffles index cards to determine what it is he should do next)."Chaos Theory," a small but insightful movie written by Daniel Taplitz and directed by Marcos Siega, boasts a cleverly addled storyline, some sharp, witty dialogue and energetic performances by Reynolds, Emily Mortimer and Stuart Townsend, the latter two as Frank's wife and best friend, respectively.
The plot complications get pretty hot and heavy at times but, as with all good comedy, things have a way of straightening themselves out in the end.Though there may be a few too many musical montage sequences in the movie for my taste - they always seem to be used as shortcuts to get the heart soaring or the tear ducts flowing - the movie has a fluidity and charm that raise it above any possible shortcomings.
This is a rarity of a gem with a great cast and a perfect blend of heartwarming drama and spot-on comedic timing.However, its never gonna get the wide audience that it deserves mainly because the stars aren't exactly top draws in the box office which is just sad really because the wider audience would rather just watch a dude dressed as a lady in a fatsuit (I'm looking at you Tyler Perry) than real good quality film-making..
Chaos Theory is an enjoyable little film that tells the story of Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) who's a professional speaker that gives lectures on time management,and his life is perfectly ordered and scheduled.One day his wife sets his clock forward 10 minutes thinking that she had just done the opposite and Frank's day is thrown off.First he arrives late to an out-of-town lecture and then his life starts to unravels in ways he never expected.Along the way he makes several interesting discoveries about his family and comes to the conclusion that being so obsessive, so organized and so uptight did nothing for his life.
Smart and well thought, Chaos Theory is enjoyable throughout although it never reaches greatness.There are a few interesting ideas and a lot of potential and the movie could definitely have been taken to another level but still, its a solid movie.The film is very well balanced; it delivers some laughs at the right time,but also has a very serious and dramatic side as well.The soundtrack is was surprisingly very good and its composed mainly by independent bands.
Ryan Reynolds is tremendous as the lead character,Frank, and completely believable.He's the driving force of the movie and a pleasure to watch.Stuart Townsend and Emily Mortimer did good too as the best friend and the wife respectively .
The surprising thing about Chaos Theory was the way it was rather staid "date flick" fare, but would occasionally punch through the safety barrier and say something wickedly true and profoundly, deeply passionate and beautiful.It's a great story about truth and connection, and how sometimes connection needs to be reinstated and preserved even in the face of the failure to fully disclose the truth.To get a little technical, there were times when I was especially appreciative of the writing.
Through a serious of less than fortunate events, Frank manages to mount up enough circumstantial evidence of his committing adultery at least once, that his wife throws him out.The twist, when it comes, is not altogether unexpected, but the material is treated with a humanity that makes you happy to keep watching.
The movie is about a normal 9 - 5 office going family man(Ryan Renolds) who's life suddenly takes into wild turns and become chaotic.
A successful comedy, drama, and romance The movie is really worth watching because it represents ordinary people's chaos of life.
They can do this behaving as they want instead of being organized in a strict way (Frank's situation), learning to be responsible for something (Buddy's situation), and may be trusting more the ones we love (Susan's situation).
"Chaos Theory" is the story of Ryan Reynold's character, Frank Allen, reminiscing back to his younger and crazy years as a man who--well, wasn't so crazy in the beginning.
In between Frank Allen's long, bizarre journey in which he struggles to prioritize things to go his way, but learns in the end that only true love (not his prioritizing) can bring him and his wife together, there are a few moments that are thrown in that are supposed to be emotional (characters weeping, heads held close), and they just don't click.
Movie begins with wedding day of Jesse and Ed. Ed has some doubts and Frank, Jesse's father, talks with him and tells him his own story.
One day, he helps a pregnant woman, and later Susan misunderstands and thinks that Frank cheats her.
The film can't decide if its a comedy or a drama and with that sort of messy hybrid, you're not sure whether to laugh or empathize and the movie is quite short so characters are insufficiently developed before ryan reynolds misses his ferry and things start going off at a tangent for him.
The movie can be summarized like this; Frank's wife, Susan (Emily Mortimer), and seven-year-old daughter, Jesse (Matreya Fedor), find his obsession charming in small doses, but as a steady diet it can be very frustrating.
Which made watching this movie an awkward experience.The cast holds up pretty well, including Ryan Reynolds as the lead and Stuart Townsend as his best buddy, whose name also happens to be buddy.
He tells him about his life with his wife Susan (Emily Mortimer), womanizing best friend Buddy Endrow (Stuart Townsend) and Paula Crowe (Sarah Chalke).There is a slight comedic tone in the movie that is ill-fitting.
Ryan Reynolds's performance is very good, a gifted actor that I've seen in many movies, he is able to play in comedies but equally well unravel and dramas.
It transcends blood, it transcends betrayal and all the dirt and makes us human."The best parts of the movie that I liked are the ones where the confusion begins, him being seduced by a participant, ending up in a hospital helping a pregnant woman deliver a baby (and then she disappears), the wife getting a call about 'her' baby.
Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) who makes new lists every day lives his life with a planned program.
With the feel of a good indie flick and a strong leading man, Chaos Theory is one of those rare, genuine explorations of the human condition.Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds), an obsessively organized efficiency expert and top-selling author, has spent his entire life planning out every little detail and following the lists and schedules he makes for himself.
He clings to controlling everything because it brings order, which gives him a sense of comfort and peace of mind.One day, Frank's wife Susan (Emily Mortimer) sets the clocks forward ten minutes to help him be early for his schedule but accidentally sets them back ten minutes instead, making him late for his lecture on efficiency and setting off a chain of events that sends Frank's life spiraling.
As you watch it all transpire on the screen, you're able to understand and relate to many of the emotions that Frank is struggling with.Much of this success comes from the performance of Ryan Reynolds, an actor best known for comedic roles in movies like Waiting and Van Wilder, but who has an intensity and seriousness about him that translates powerfully to other types of roles.
This is evident in Definitely, Maybe as well as Chaos Theory, and the latter is quite a departure from the comedy work he has done previously  one he excels in and should do more often.One scene where his talent and intensity really comes through is when Frank pulls over onto the side of the road just after he discovers the life-altering news.
Reynolds easily carries the movie, which is even better off because of it.Chaos Theory is an extremely honest, sometimes sad, always emotional and very real exploration of how a person deals with a drastic change in their life.
'Chaos Theory' is the latter, I really liked the premise which is why I watched it in the first place: an over-organized guy, with a perfectly fine job, wife and daughter finds his life turned upside down from one day to the next.
Chaos Theory is a movie about Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) whose life is scheduled down to the minute details all written down on index cards.
This causes Frank to question his safe, planned out life, and start living on a whim.I really wanted to enjoy this movie after hearing the positive reviews on IMDb, but unfortunately I did not.
Frank and wife Susan did not appear like they were in love as the film suggested, and Frank's relationship with Best Friend Buddy was weak.Overall this movie held my attention long enough to avoid me from turning it off.
Wow!Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) is a professional on time management obsessively planning his life down to the minute.
One day when his wife Susan (Emily Mortimer) decides to set the alarm ten minutes late, in hopes of giving her husband an extra 10', she accomplishes the exact opposite: from missing the ferry to arriving late to his lecture on time management, Frank experiences an off day.
How eloquently Taplitz's and Reynold's Frank says: "There are few things more chaotic than the beat of a human heart." So what can one do about this "Chaos Theory"?
Now following my hesitating state against Ryan Reynolds movies I have come to understand that we as movie goers and people just wanting something to watch on the couch with a friend or a loved one.We usually judge movies by a person, naturally that one person is almost never the reason, now I am not going to say that Ryan Reynolds haven't been in bad movies otherwise I wouldn't have built up this hesitated stage that I do when finding a movie with him.But I have come to realize when I watch movies with the actors that I don't like that much I find out that they can truly change, and for the most many of the roles they try to do are just not theirs to take, now that might sound weird but some movies are meant for one person, heck I am sure that soon there will be a movie even Will Smith will fall on his knees upon.The reason that many actors like Will Smith and others are doing so well and of course also Ryan Reynolds is because most of the movies they are cast in are perfect for them, yet some of them can be big flops, and sometimes a movie is all it takes, just look at "Reign Over Me" with Adam Sandler his acting in that movie is a revelation to say the least.Now I am not going to say what movie had me almost hating Ryan Reynolds, instead I am going to give another review for one more with the guy that have me more and more mesmerized with roles that are made for him.Storyline 9/10 – (This Contains major spoilers!!!) The story is about Frank, a man who lives by a controlled life, in the beginning we see an epilogue of some sort, where Frank as an older man tells his soon to be son in law about love, then it flashbacks to the moment where Frank meets the woman of his life.After that it jumps about 7 years in the future where he is a little older and living with his wife and his daughter, everything is peaceful until he goes for an audience and in the end is spoken to by one of the viewers a woman who wants to have sex with him.He declines in the end but when he drives home he is stopped nearly driving into a pregnant woman, which leads him to helping her into the hospital, and this is where the story begins to get complicated because the next morning his wife finds out what he had done, well in some way, because instead she is told he has just gotten a child, which naturally is a mistake.This is where the it hits the fan, after a doctor's appointment he finds out that his daughter isn't really his, which changes him to begin taking weird chances and in a way leads him to his downfall..find out the rest for yourselves it is worth it.Now even for how complicated this story seems it really isn't, it is rather simple for movie standards, but it is done in a much more delicate and wonderful way, the story is inflicted by a massive soundtrack which also helps it a lot.Actors 10/10 – The actors are naturally in this movie the best part, Ryan Reynolds plays his part to utmost of his capabilities well at least from what I can gather, the only other movie that have had me even more astonished is "The Nines" which is of course also a movie with him, one that I might return with a review on one day.Emily Mortimer is just a really nice and rather astonishing lady, I have seen many movies with her and have always felt it was worth it, her acting is spot on, and she does everything to try and show the emotions and it truly does feel right to the viewer.I must admit I don't know who this Stuart Townsend is, I might have seen movies with him before but not that I can recollect, I would imagine he is still an upcoming star or maybe that is just me, but nevertheless his acting was well done, there was a nice story around there, sometimes his emotions and his acting doesn't touch the viewer that much but at least it works.Matreya Fedor I didn't know who she was either, she does resemble some child star so in the beginning I thought she was who I was thinking about but she wasn't I am guessing she is also an upcoming star, nevertheless like Stuart Townsend her acting is also really well done, it is a little more subtle since she isn't in every scene if you get my drift.Soundtrack 10/10 – This movie is filled with a lot of great tracks many of them fit perfectly where they are, they heighten the movie in so many ways, just for the soundtrack this was a treat, I am properly going to buy the soundtrack one day just for that, really awesome soundtrack shouldn't be missed!
Some of that was touched on in the movie "A Beautiful Mind." But Ryan Reynolds as Frank Allen seems to be at the opposite extreme, his believes in very tight structure in one's life, making lists, doing things efficiently, and making his living teaching this to groups of business people.
The main of the movie is a flashback, showing what all happened to get to this point.British actress Emily Mortimer is Frank's wife, Susan.
And as the movie ends with Jesse's wedding ceremony, Susan is sitting between Frank and Buddy, one big happy family!.
And the film goes back in time when Frank and his wife Susan Emily Mortimer are married and have a seven year old girl called Jesse.
At first I thought it was a comedy but as the film went on Chaos Theory turned into a drama and a very sad one There was some points in the movie were your laughing and you realize that the scene is actually really depressing.
It is a very touching movie, that even though it has a comic feeling to it, the underlying real feel, is that it has a very serious touch to it, involving parenting, love, best friends, work, LIFE, and how these things can get turned upside down by a small change in our lives, that one moment.
So Frank (Ryan Reynolds) who is Jesse's father talks with him and tells Ed his story.
He learnt that Jesse's real father who is Susan and Frank' s best friend Buddy (Stuart Townsend) and he plans to kill him.
Even though everything is getting better, suddenly your life is complicated.The end of Frank' s story is really impressive, Jesse is not his biological father but he come back for their family.
Acting is awesome in movie especially while watching Frank Allen(Ryan Reynolds) you can easily understand what I mean.Of course not only Frank's performance is great in movie but also Susan(Emily Mortimer),Buddy (Stuart Townsend)and other characters.