The Butterfly Effect

Ealasaid/ January 22, 2004/ Movie Reviews and Features

Originally written for The Milpitas Post.Written and Directed by: Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, Eric Stoltz
Rated: R for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use.
Parental Notes: This is an intense and often very disturbing film with images of child and animal abuse and some very distressing sequences. Mature teens may find the philosophy interesting, but it’s too intense for younger folks.


Chaos theory holds that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. What might have happened had that butterfly flapped its wings differently, or not at all?
That’s the question asked by “The Butterfly Effect.” College student Evan (Ashton Kutcher) is one of a quartet of friends whose lives are marked by tragedy. Kayleigh and Tommy (Amy Smart and William Lee Scott) are siblings who grew up with an abusive child pornographer of a father. Lenny (Elden Henson) is physically and mentally fragile, and had his mind shattered as a preteen by a prank gone terribly wrong.
As a child, Evan suffered from blackouts which often blocked out times he acted strangely or suffered extreme mental stress. When tests show his brain is normal, his doctor tells him to keep detailed journals in the hopes that this will help keep his memory working.
In college, where he’s studying psychology, Evan discovers that when he rereads the journal entries surrounding his blackouts, he can relive those blanked out times. At first he thinks they’re just detailed memories, but then he realizes that he can change things

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