Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Mike Barker

Writer (WGA):

William Morrissey (written by)

Release Date:

23 August 2007 (Israel)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Lives will be broken

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Nanny | Sociopath | Kidnapper | Gun | Daughter

Cast

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'

Also Known As:

Shattered (Singapore: English title) (USA) (new title)
Desperate Hours (Europe: English title)
The Butterfly (International: English title)
Acorralados (Argentina) [es]
Atormentados (Portugal) [pt]
Butterfly on a Wheel (Finland) [fi]
Chantaje (Spain) (TV title) [es]
Desperate Hours (Sweden) [sv]
Desperate Timer (Norway) (DVD title) [no]
Enas agnostos anamesa mas (Greece) [el]
Encurralados (Brazil) [pt]
Le chantage (France) [fr]
Máxima traición (Argentina) (cable TV title) [es]
Shattered - Gioco mortale (Italy) [it]
Shattered - Lucida vendetta (Italy) (TV title) [it]
Slomljena krila (Croatia) [hr]
Spiel mit der Angst (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
The Butterfly (Asia: English title) [en]

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and violence.

Runtime:

95 min | Germany:98 min (European Film Market)

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:R-13 | Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Butterfly Productions

Trivia:

When Neil opens the poetry volume, you can see the lines 304 to 310 of Alexander Pope's "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot": But all such babbling blockheads in his stead Let Sporus tremble - A. "What? that thing of silk, Sporus, that mere white curd of ass's milk? Satire or sense, alas! can Sporus feel? Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" P. Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings, This painted child of dirt that stinks and stings, On top of the page there is merely a title "Satires", because the 'Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot' is also known as 'Prologue to the Satires'. Notice that in the final scene, Abby seems to continue Pope's rhyme by saying: Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel? I do, Neil ...

Goofs:

Continuity: When Neil runs to the clock tower he's all sweaty - his shirt is all wet, then in the elevator he's neat and clean, then on the roof he's wet again.

Movie Connections:

Features "Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy" (1999)

Soundtrack:

I'll Take Care of You

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.