Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Black Butterfly Blu-ray Movie Review

'Misery' loves company.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 13, 2017

The first shot of Black Butterfly is a close-up of someone shackled to a chair, with his hands cuffed behind him. When it is later revealed that this person is a screenwriter named Paul Lopez (Antonio Banderas) and that he’s being held hostage in his remote cabin by an apparently crazed fan named Jack (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), it’s all but impossible not to think about Misery , though Black Butterfly lacks Misery’s wacko Annie Wilkes or, perhaps more saliently, its narrative clarity. Black Butterfly hinges on not one but two “twists”, one of which is so ridiculously improbable that even those who have gone with the film’s already incredible storyline may be at major eye rolling territory by the time it’s trotted out in the film’s closing moments. This is one of those films where pretty much everything you’re witnessing is not what it appears to be, and so some may feel cheated by two late reveals that upend the preceding plot, without any genuine feeling of catharsis. After that brief view of Paul shackled to a chair, and then another brief view of Paul trying to get something written (in what is kind of understood as a timeline prior to the shackling scene), the film segues to a family enjoying a picnic at a park, a celebration which quickly turns tragic when the wife and mother mysteriously disappears on her way back to the car (in just one of the unexplained elisions in the film, since there are tons of people around, including by the car, and the later “revelation” of who the culprit is never provides any clarifying information as to how the abduction took place). That then segues back to Paul, who is an alcoholic recluse trying to unload his acreage with the help of realtor Laura Johnson (Piper Perabo).

Note: A few unavoidable plot points are detailed below which some may feel constitute spoilers. Anyone concerned is encouraged to skip down to the technical aspects of the review, below.

Black Butterfly’s screenplay by Marc Frydman and Justin Stanley is probably intentionally fractured and dissociative, subliminally offering the roiling state of Paul’s psyche to a potentially confused viewer. Paul is seen at his typewriter (typewriter?) with a sheet of paper inside upon which is emblazoned “I’m stuck” repeatedly, in what will probably evoke memories of another cinematic adaptation of a Stephen King novel, The Shining. No work and a similar deficit in the play area have made this Paul, if not dull then at least deeply troubled, something that becomes more clear when he drives into town but erupts into a brief fit of road rage on the way. Paul has issues, to say the least, but the screenplay only doles out the reasons for Paul’s self destructive behavior slowly, ultimately revealing that Paul lost his wife years before.

Paul’s reason for going into town is to potentially court Laura, but when a fracas breaks out involving the truck driver who had sparked Paul’s umbrage on the way to the diner, all hell breaks loose until a seeming bystander named Jack (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) intervenes and saves the day. Suffering both from an at least temporary rebuff by Laura and the evident embarrassment of the showdown at the diner with the trucker, Paul takes off back for his cabin, which is when he sees Jack hitchhiking by the side of the road. Of course, Paul picks him up, in what by this time is a patently absurd set of coincidences and contrivances which repeatedly tend to propel the plot forward.

Initially Jack seems to be Felix to Paul’s Oscar (so to speak), cleaning up after the heavy drinker and trying to fix up the cabin and its grounds. Soon enough, though, Jack starts to exhibit some more dangerously feral tendencies, especially once he starts offering “suggestions” to Paul about how Paul’s proposed screenplay should proceed. All of this plays out against a backdrop of allusions to the nefarious activities of a serial killer who of course hasn’t stopped with the abduction and assumed murder shown in the film’s picnic scene. So, with a rather small cast (the film really is basically a two hander), the audience is left to wonder whether Jack or Paul (or maybe even Laura) could be the culprit, all while the relationship between Jack and Paul starts spilling over into psychotic territory.

All of this would be well and good, if not especially provocative or surprising, if the film didn’t tip over into an initially ludicrous “twist” that is then further upset by another little yanking of the believability chain. The first “twist” is so over the top and defies so many levels of logic that it’s probably pointless to even try to analyze it from any typically rational standpoint. (I will say that after having gone back and watched parts of the film repeatedly now, I’m fairy certain there’s a gaping continuity error at play that involves a major “clue” found late in the film, a clue which is nowhere to be seen in earlier shots of the same location.) Without totally spoiling what this twist involves, it’s perhaps salient to note that if a film is going to go down The Sting route, it’s best to make sure that both the setup and ultimate comeuppance withstand at least basic rigors of logic, something that simply doesn’t pass the smell test with regard to Black Butterfly.

Despite the patent inanities of some of the plot mechanics, there’s genuine tension in parts of Black Butterfly, most due to Rhys Meyers’ threatening take on the part of Jack. Banderas is rather good in this doleful role, though the film’s final moments offer a few too many last minute changes that even Banderas can’t navigate. Perabo functions mostly as eye candy and/or damsel in distress material here, two things she has no problem providing.

Black Butterfly Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Black Butterfly is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Once again technical data on the shoot is hard to come by online, though the making of featurette included on the Blu-ray clearly shows Arri cameras. This is another generally nice looking presentation, one that is occasionally graded toward cool blues, but which also offers a naturalistic looking palette in brightly lit outdoor scenes, where blue skies and verdant fields offer a nice range of tones and great detail levels, even in some wide shots. As with many digitally captured features, there's some attendant murk in the many dimly lit interior scenes (including a few at night which look like they were shot with little to no additional lighting). The film regularly exploits close-ups, some of which can occasionally look slightly out of focus (see screenshot 14), but which generally offer commendable levels of fine detail.

Black Butterfly Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Black Butterfly features a workmanlike DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that doesn't offer a lot of "wow" factor, but which still provides good surround activity in terms of naturalistic placement of ambient environmental sounds, or even brief bursts of low end activity when gunshots are fired. The bulk of the film is comprised of intimate dialogue scenes, most of which are anchored front and center. Fidelity is fine and prioritization well handled throughout this problem free track.

Black Butterfly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Director Brian Goodman and Co-Writer Mark Frydman


• Black Butterfly: Backstage (1080p; 9:11) is pretty standard EPK fare, though it does have some interesting POV shots from the camera's perspective (I assume a Go Pro or something was attached to the rigging), and some interesting info on some unexpected VFX.


• Black Butterfly: Trailer (1080p; 2:20)

Black Butterfly Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Black Butterfly seems to be about one thing while hinting that it's really about something else, both of which go up in flames in a late reveal that upends everything that's gone before and may provoke some less inhibited viewers to throw their remotes at their screens. The film boasts excellent performances and some decent anxiety filled sequences, but this is one film which could have done significantly better without supposedly mind blowing "twists". Technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.