Film Reviews - The Butterfly Effect
Every now and again we'll go to the cinema and see a film we've
really not heard much about.
In fact the first time I heard that The Butterfly Effect
actually existed was last week when we were passing the cinema
and we decided to stop and see what was on.
I'd not heard about this film, I'd not seen a single trailer
however the write-up in the cinema magazine was enough to make
us interested and we decided to go this weekend.
As I said above I'd not read a single review on the film before
we went. The cast list is nothing special, in fact there is a
good chance you'll glance down the cast and not recognise
anybody.
Basically the film follows Evan throughout his life starting at
the age of seven.
Evan keeps on experiencing "black outs" where he cannot remember
what has happened. In an attempt to try and counter this Evan
starts to keep a journal of his life where he writes down
everything that happens to him.
Eventually Evan and his mother move house leaving Evan's
childhood girlfriend (Kayleigh) behind with the promise that one
day he will return for her.
Evan returns to his childhood town to speak with Kayleigh about
events from his childhood in an attempt to fill in some of the
blank-spaces he has in his memories.
Kayleigh is so distressed at Evan bringing up the past that she
commits suicide.
Evan finds that when he concentrates on some of his memories
from his childhood journals he can actually travel back in time
and make changes which change the present.
However he finds that no matter what he does in "his past" to
change the future things conspire against him, things go wrong
and those people closest to him are hurt, killed or have their
lives ruined.
The plot is extremely tight and the film is extremely well
filmed - things that don't make sense when you see them towards
the beginning of the film do make sense later on once the time
travelling begins.
The plot and story is as tight as "Back to the Future" with
everything coming together in the end.
I don't really have anything bad to say about the film.
I initially felt that it took too long for the "time travelling"
to begin, however this was due to character development and on
reflection this happened at exactly the right time.
The film can be a little bit confusing to begin with. Also as
you leave the cinema you may have a sense that some things do
not fall into place, that something wasn't quite right.
However take a few moments to reflect, trace back what you
"think" doesn't make sense and you'll find that it does.
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