Science FictionThriller

The Butterfly Effect

- Change one thing. Change everything.

A young man struggles to access sublimated childhood memories. He finds a technique that allows him to travel back into the past, to occupy his childhood body and change history. However, he soon finds that every change he makes has unexpected consequences.

Release Date : 2004-01-17

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : FilmEngineKatalyst FilmsBenderSpinkNew Line Cinema

Production Country : CanadaUnited States of America

Alternative Titles : The.Butterfly.Effect.I

Cast

Character Name : Evan Treborn

Original Name : Ashton Kutcher

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kayleigh Miller

Original Name : Amy Smart

Gender : Female

Character Name : Andrea Treborn

Original Name : Melora Walters

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lenny Kagan

Original Name : Elden Henson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tommy Miller

Original Name : William Lee Scott

Gender : Male

Character Name : George Miller

Original Name : Eric Stoltz

Gender : Male

Character Name : Thumper

Original Name : Ethan Suplee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Evan Treborn age 7

Original Name : Logan Lerman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Evan Treborn age 13

Original Name : John Patrick Amedori

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kayleigh age 13

Original Name : Irina Gorovaia

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lenny age 13

Original Name : Kevin G. Schmidt

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tommy age 13

Original Name : Jesse James

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr. Redfield

Original Name : Nathaniel DeVeaux

Gender : Male

Character Name : Carlos

Original Name : Kevin Durand

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jason Treborn

Original Name : Callum Keith Rennie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tommy age 7

Original Name : Cameron Bright

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Boswell

Original Name : Lorena Gale

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mrs. Kagan

Original Name : Kendall Cross

Gender : Female

Character Name : Priest

Original Name : John Tierney

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anchor

Original Name : Ted Friend

Gender : Male

Character Name : Professor Carter

Original Name : John B. Lowe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cricket

Original Name : Camille Sullivan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Heidi

Original Name : Tara Wilson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Spencer

Original Name : Jesse Hutch

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boss

Original Name : Bill Croft

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anesthesiologist

Original Name : Kevan Ohtsji

Gender : Male

Character Name : Senior Brother

Original Name : Daniel Spink

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hunter

Original Name : Grant Thompson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gesela

Original Name : Melanie Hall

Gender : Female

Character Name : Frat Boy Pledge

Original Name : Sam Easton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lenny at 7

Original Name : Jake Kaese

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kayleigh at 7

Original Name : Sarah Widdows

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eugenie

Original Name : Bret Aaron Knower

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gothic Co-Ed

Original Name : Amy Esterle

Gender : Female

Character Name : Gwen

Original Name : Jacqueline Stewart

Gender : Female

Character Name : Pinching Customer

Original Name : Glenn Richards

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Halpern

Original Name : Sadie Lawrence

Gender : Female

Character Name : Theta Chi Pledge

Original Name : Sam Easton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Karl

Original Name : Douglas Arthurs

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rick

Original Name : Paul Lazenby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Waitress

Original Name : June B. Wilde

Gender : Female

Character Name : Orderly

Original Name : Kimani Ray Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sunnyvale Guard

Original Name : Trevor Jones

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teen Punk

Original Name : Colby Chartrand

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Miller

Original Name : Shelly Schiavoni

Gender : Female

Character Name : Kristen

Original Name : Brandy Kopp

Gender : Female

Character Name : Madame Helga

Original Name : Chapelle Jaffe

Gender : Female

Character Name : Obstetrician

Original Name : Scott Swanson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Moviegoer

Original Name : David Cook

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teen Punk Girl

Original Name : Magda Apanowicz

Gender : Female

Character Name : Wedding Priest

Original Name : Garry Little

Gender : Male

Character Name : Theta Chi Pledge #2 (uncredited)

Original Name : David Dasilma

Gender : Male

Character Name : Crying Mental Patient (uncredited)

Original Name : Stan Edmonds

Gender : Male

Character Name : Theater Patron (uncredited)

Original Name : Cameron K. Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Evan at 3

Original Name : J. Jackson Kocela

Gender : Male

Character Name : Andrea's New Husband

Original Name : Andrew Olcott

Gender : Male

Character Name : Crockett the Dog

Original Name : Riddle the Dog

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

You can't change who people are without destroying who they were. The Butterfly Effect - Directors Cut The Butterfly Effect is directed by Eric Bress and Bress co-writes the screenplay with J. Mackye Gruber. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Melora Walters, Amy Smart, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, Eric Stoltz and Ethan Suplee. Music is by Michael Suby and cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti. The title refers to the butterfly effect, the chaos theory of a popular hypothetical situation that illustrates how small initial differences may lead to large unforeseen consequences over time. The plot pitches Kutcher as Evan Treborn who suffers blackouts during critical mments in his life. When older he finds that through reading the journals he has written since a child, that he can go back in time to the significant events and change what happens. Unfortunately each time he does it comes at a great cost... It was mercilessly kicked by the pro critics upon release, not helped by coming at a time when Kucher was something of a kicking post to critics. To compound the misery for the makers, they released a theatrical cut that featured a quite apalling ending. Inspite of these trevails at the time of release, the pic made a pot load of cash at the box office. Once the Directors Cut surfaced, with a key scene added to cement the different - quality - ending, time has seen the stock of the pic rise considerably. So much so that it currently sits at a 7.6 rating on IMDb and a 75% rating on TMDB, wile there are some critics who have come out and admitted they were too quick to judge the first release back in 2004. What we have is a time travelling corkscrew narrative that is immensely sombre in telling how ones actions can have far-reaching consequences. It's a compelling and often thrilling picture, one that can spark hearty debate about the thematics at work - notably we the audience being forced to contemplate our own actions in life. The pic demands the utmost attention, switching off for a few minutes is a definite no no. Some scenes linger long in the memory as we trawl through the evil that kids and men do, right up to the unforgettable finale. There's plot and logic holes, that are small irritants, and even though this definitely could have been better cast with more senior actors, none of the youthful cast members hurt the picture. It packs a punch, that is on proviso you only see the directors cut. 7.5/10

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-08-12

"Evan" (Ashton Kutcher) has had a troubled existence thus far in his young life, and is prone to blackouts. These seem to take chunks of his day away from him as he comes back to a consciousness unaware of what has just taken place, or even where he is! He tries to fill in the gaps by writing in his journal what could have happened then miraculously finds himself back at that exact time and place. It's almost as if these memory lapses were just missing pieces of his jigsaw puzzle that he must go and relive, retrospectively, and infill. The thing is, though, he doesn't readily consider the impact that these additional experiences may have on future events. Basically his actions could change the course of history. It's really his beloved "Kayleigh" (Amy Smart) he is determined to keep safe - and that's quite a task as their childhood antics have frequently caused quite a few tragic events and his attempts to reverse these merely seem to create others... Can he square the circle? This is quite a cleverly constructed story that allows Kutcher to prove he's not just a pretty lad. His characterisation of "Evan" gradually develops from someone lost in a sea of confusion to a man whose realisation of his predicament is becoming a little more enabling. The nature of the story allows the film to adopt a loosely linked portmanteau style to it - with each episode in is life introducing different characters and scenarios which, so long as he can access his journal, he can escape from should the dangers (and there are quite a few) threaten to overwhelm him. It's not an easy watch - there's violence and bullying a-plenty, but it's a quirkily presented look at the domino effects of human behaviour that does merit a watch.