The Butterfly Effect (2004)

The casting choices for the younger versions of Evan Treborn were interesting. Logan Lerman and John Patrick Amedori were both remarkable actors (Lerman in particular), especially for being so young. What was so interesting about the casting was the fact that the actors were clearly older than the age they were meant to portray. Regardless, they were phenomenal actors. In general, this is one of the best acted films I’ve ever seen. Each of the actors had to play a number of different roles and each of the actors executed their roles with excellent precision. I enjoyed the symbolism using color and light in each of the realities that Ashton Kutcher’s Evan creates throughout the film. When he first believes that he has fixed everything the colors are vibrant and fun. Throughout this reality, as he begins to realize that life isn’t as good as he may have thought, the colors fade and become darker and more neutral. In other realities where it is immediately clear that this reality is worse than the one he is used to, we see dark colors like blacks and grays. Finally, when he creates a reality that is neutral, where he no longer has any relationship with Kaleigh, she wears white and there is a bright, however, neutral tone to everything going on around him. The audience is able to see how Evan would feel about the reality he’s in at any given moment and would allow the audience (certainly myself) to feel more connected to his character. The first thirty minutes or so of the film was terribly confusing, as it bounced around and was quite twisted. The writing was superb because J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress managed to keep the audience suspended up until the exact moment that they were meant to understand what was happening. Unlike some films, nothing was revealed too soon and nothing dragged on; everything was revealed at just the right moment. It was hard to find a flaw with this film (other than the obvious age issues with the younger Evans). The film’s concept was fantastic and I felt everything about the film was well executed. Unless you are offended by the constant use of the f-word, do yourself a favor and watch this film. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0289879/