Ashton Kutcher in a drama? I’m sure we were all thinking the same thing. Adam Sandler attempted it in 2002. Will Ferrell will pursue it later this year. So why are we still shocked when comedic actors make the big genre leap to serious films that contain meaningful themes and story lines?
Kutcher, best known for his stupid yet hilarious characters, leaps with ease in the recently released drama, “The Butterfly Effect”. Written and directed by Eric Bess and J. Mackye Gruber (the writers of “Final Destination 2”), the film whisks the audience away on a journey through time as one man tries to save the girl he loves from an inevitable and tragic death.
“You can’t change who people are without destroying who they were,” but that doesn’t stop Evan Treborn (Kutcher). Ever since the age of 7, Evan experienced blackouts in his memory as a side effect of a disease unidentified by his doctors. The events of his traumatic childhood, including a horrifying experience with the pedofile father of his first love Kayleigh Miller (Amy Smart), worsened Evan’s symptoms, often causing unexplainable behavior. Evan’s blackouts were uncontrollable.
Thirteen years later and after the unexpected death of Kayleigh, Evan discovers he has the ability to shift back and forth through time, altering the past in order to prevent Kayleigh’s demise. Through his journals written in his childhood, Evan changes history, but creates alternate realities more terrifying than reality itself. Soon, Evan catches himself in a vicious cycle of repeated pasts and starts to believe that saving Kayleigh will come at a price, if he can save her at all.
Some people may be turned off by the film. Actors are sometimes unsuccessful in branching out from their best-known fields. However, with alluring special effects (okay, so it’s NOT “The Matrix”), unexpected plot twists, and an interesting story line, “Butterfly” has much to offer. Not to mention that Kutcher (and Smart too!) actually pulls it off.
Surprisingly, his performance deserves recognition. The audience sympathizes with Evan and Kayleigh’s tortured love, as fate seems to clash with their lives time and time again.
Compared to other movies concerning time travel, “The Butterfly Effect” is no “Donnie Darko”. While watching, some might experience a sense of the “been there, done that” syndrome. However, as Evan relives events of his life, the film is effective in depicting life as a series of causes and effects. Bess and Gruber succeed at ruining not only Evan’s life, but the lives of Kayleigh and his friends as well.
The words on the paper tremble, as if they are falling off the page. The walls shake while brick and plaster explode to pieces on the very foundation on which they stand. Evan’s nose bleeds profusely; sweat drips off his forehead. Again, Evan has gone back in time to remedy the past and the future, in hopes of creating a better life for himself and Kayleigh.
It is debatable whether or not Sandler pulled it off in “Punch Drunk Love”. It is yet to be determined if Will Ferrell can deliver. Yet, Ashton Kutcher has finally shown the audience the full extent of his capabilities in one of his most intriguing roles to date.
“The Butterfly Effect” will not be nominated for Best Picture for the 77th Annual Academy Awards; however, it is an exceptionally entertaining movie that portrays fate in terms life and love, and the consequences of intervening with destiny.
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