The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.

Directors:

Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber

Writers:

J. Mackye Gruber, Eric Bress

Stars:

Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ashton Kutcher	...	Evan
Melora Walters	...	Andrea
Amy Smart	...	Kayleigh
Elden Henson	...	Lenny
William Lee Scott	...	Tommy
John Patrick Amedori	...	Evan at 13
Irina Gorovaia	...	Kayleigh at 13 (as Irene Gorovaia)
Kevin G. Schmidt	...	Lenny at 13
Jesse James	...	Tommy at 13
Logan Lerman	...	Evan at 7
Sarah Widdows	...	Kayleigh at 7
Jake Kaese	...	Lenny at 7
Cameron Bright	...	Tommy at 7
Eric Stoltz	...	Mr. Miller
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Jason

Storyline

Evan Treborn grows up in a small town with his single, working mother and his friends. He suffers from memory blackouts where he suddenly finds himself somewhere else, confused. Evan's friends and mother hardly believe him, thinking he makes it up just to get out of trouble. As Evan grows up he has fewer of these blackouts until he seems to have recovered. Since the age of seven he has written a diary of his blackout moments so he can remember what happens. One day at college he starts to read one of his old diaries, and suddenly a flashback hits him like a brick!

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Plot Keywords:

butterfly effect | love | time travel | child pornography | memory | 

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Taglines:

Das Ende ist erst der Anfang (The end is only the beginning.)

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Butterfly Effect

Filming Locations:

Ceperley House, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,100,000, 25 January 2004

Gross USA:

$57,938,693

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$95,707,652

Company Credits

Production Co:

BenderSpink, FilmEngine, Katalyst Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 120 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Evan's diaries have the same cover layout as the diaries of John Doe in Se7en (1995), also released by New Line Cinema. They are standard composition notebooks that are used by school children across the country every day.

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Goofs

Evan wakes up in the institution and gets down on the floor looking for his notebooks. The shot of him on the floor shows his bed sheet and blanket hanging off the side of the bed making contact with the floor. In the following shot the sheet and blanket are no longer hanging off the side.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[reading aloud as he writes a note]
Evan: If anyone finds this, it means my plan didn't work and I'm already dead. But if I can somehow go back to the beginning of all of this, I might be able to save her.

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Crazy Credits

The title, "The Butterfly Effect," is superimposed over a depiction of a butterfly beating its wings, which is itself superimposed upon an X-ray profile of a human brain.

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Alternate Versions

The Canadian version of the movie contains scenes of nudity.

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: The Griffin Family History (2006)

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Soundtracks

Dark Entries
Written by Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, David J (as David Jay), Peter Murphy
Performed by Bauhaus
Courtesy of 4AD/Beggars Group

User Reviews

See it more than once!

The film has never been showed in Denmark, (where I come from) so the press has never reviewed it. It took me 2 times to get the point but when I realized every part of the film, I felt a huge rush! I'm sure when I see it the 3rd time it will be an even bigger experience to me. Every part of the film plays an important role to the main thread. Every details have a role! The film is like reading a poem from the 18th century, where every sentence means something. The director is a pure genius! Those who've criticized the film, should really see it again, because you'll then notice all the details which makes this film excellent! Without a doubt one of the best films I've seen!