A Serious Turn for Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher took on a darker dramatic role than the television comedies for which he was widely known.
Movie
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.
Why it's in the Vault
The Butterfly Effect turns a fascinating science-fiction premise into a dark, emotionally charged thriller about memory, regret and the terrible cost of changing the past. Ashton Kutcher delivers a strikingly serious performance as Evan Treborn, a young man who discovers that revisiting moments from his childhood can transform the present in unpredictable ways. Each attempt to repair a painful event creates another reality, often exposing consequences far worse than anyone could have anticipated. Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber build an unsettling puzzle in which the desire to protect loved ones becomes inseparable from guilt and sacrifice. The film's disturbing atmosphere, inventive narrative structure and increasingly desperate choices give it a lasting emotional impact. A compelling, haunting exploration of the idea that even the smallest change can alter everything.
— Matty, Curator of the Vault
Atmosphere
Disturbing, tragic, tense, mind-bending, melancholic
Psychological tension
Temporal vertigo
Tragic emotion
Existential dread
Contains child abuse and sexual abuse themes, domestic violence, animal cruelty, disturbing injuries, prison violence, suicide-related themes and traumatic situations involving children.
Dans les coulisses
Ce qu'on ne voit pas à l'écran
Four Endings
Several endings were filmed, with the theatrical release and director's cut taking notably different approaches.
A Longer Director's Cut
The theatrical version runs approximately 113 minutes, while the director's cut runs approximately 120 minutes.
The Bradbury Connection
Ray Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder, a famous story about small changes to history, is referenced in the film.
A Real Prison Location
Prison sequences were filmed at Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington State.
A Vancouver Production
Much of the film was shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia.
Aux origines
Original screenplay by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber
Palette
Les couleurs du film
Fractured Memory Blue#536D83
Butterfly Wing Violet#716185
Journal Paper#D6C5A4
Wounded Past Red#914E53
Faded Childhood Green#77816C
Uncertain Future Black#292E39
Images
