Shattered (2007)

A perfect family's dynamic is ruined by a kidnapper's brutally efficient plot.

Director:

Mike Barker

Writer:

William Morrissey

Stars:

Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello, Gerard Butler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierce Brosnan	...	Tom Ryan
Maria Bello	...	Abby Randall
Gerard Butler	...	Neil Randall
Emma Karwandy	...	Sophie Randall
Claudette Mink	...	Judy Ryan
Desiree Zurowski	...	Helen Schriver
Nicholas Lea	...	Jerry Crane
Peter Keleghan	...	Karl Granger
Samantha Ferris	...	Diane
Malcolm Stewart	...	Dave Carver
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Det. McGill
Dustin Milligan	...	Matt Ryan
Julie Patzwald	...	Female Teller
Jason McKinnon	...	French Waiter
Kurt Evans	...	Maitre D'

Storyline

In Chicago, Neil Randall - family man and executive of an advertisement agency - has a perfect life. He expects to be promoted in his job soon, he has a beautiful and sexy wife, Abby, a lovely daughter, Sophie, and he lives in a wonderful house. When Neil's boss, Karl Granger, invites him to spend the weekend in his country cottage, Abby hires a nanny for Sophie, so Abby can spend the day with her sister, Diane. While driving Abby to meet Diane, a stranger who was hidden on the backseat appears with a gun, and informs them that he has kidnapped Sophie. He introduces himself as Ryan, and states that for twenty-four hours the couple will obey his orders, otherwise he will kill Sophie. By keeping the couple under his total control, he makes it clear that he is a calculating sociopath with nothing to lose, and the intention of destroying Neil's perfect life.

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Plot Keywords:

mysterious stranger | female removes her clothes | ordered to strip | black panties | forced to strip | 

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Taglines:

Lives will be broken

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and violence

Details

Country:

UK Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 2007 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Shattered

Filming Locations:

BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,432,482, 6 July 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Productions,Irish DreamTime,Infinity Features Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 98 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel" is a quotation - sometimes misquoted with "on" in place of "upon" - from Alexander Pope's "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" of January 1735. The line has entered common use and has become associated with more recent figures.

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Goofs

(at around 6 mins) The 3 of them are driving out of the city past Rush Memorial hospital out to a secluded location. They are really on East Bound I-290 heading INTO the city.

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Quotes

Tom Ryan: Never pick a fight with someone who's got nothing to lose.

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Connections

Features Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999)

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Soundtracks

I'll Take Care of You
Written by Brook Benton
Performed by Irma Thomas
Published by Famous Music Publishing Company Ltd.
Courtesy of Rounder Records. www.rounder.com

User Reviews

An absolute gem of a thriller

Every once in a while a movie comes along without any great fanfare, advance hype or viral marketing – a true sleeper, as it were – and causes the viewer to wonder how such a gem flew under the radar. Such is the case with Butterfly on a Wheel (released in North America under the title Shattered).

The title Butterfly on a Wheel, taken from the Alexander Pope's 1734 poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot", refers to someone putting massive effort into achieving something considered minor or unimportant, and is cryptically referred to at various points in the story and pretty much sums up the entire plot of this movie.

Gerard Butler plays Neil Randall, a Chicago advertising executive and rising star at his firm. He appears to have everything going for him. A boss who views him as the heir apparent, a loving wife, adoring moppet-headed daughter, nice house, car – he's living the American dream. That is until everything comes to a grinding halt when, on an outing with his wife (Maria Bello) they find themselves hijacked by Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan), a mysterious stranger who tells them his associate has their daughter captive and unless they wish to see her alive again, they must complete a series of arduous and cryptic challenges.

From there unfolds a cat and mouse game with Ryan's motives becoming ever more difficult to decipher as the movie progresses. With a plot peppered with enough red herrings to keep you guessing (I thought for sure I had it all figured out early on, only to be thrown for a loop), Butterfly on a Wheel/Shattered is paced to perfection, strongly acted by all three principals, and delivers a smart, almost too clever story.

What's more, it will leave you thinking about it long after viewing, and even motivating you to go over scenes again to try and find flaws, which may be there, but are very cleverly hidden.

While the media blitz that tends to foreshadow most movie releases undoubtedly benefits the film studios, in this case I can honestly say that knowing zero about this film going in actually worked in its favor, and has me marking it as one not to be missed.