THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

The movie starts with a medical patient, played by Ashton Kutcher, breaking into a doctor's office at night. The noise has alerted some guards, and he can hear them looking for him. He blocks the door with a couch, hurriedly grabs a pencil and paper and starts writing "If someone reads this, it means that I was unsuccessful and am already dead..." The guards are now outside the office, their flashlights shining in as the scene fades out.

The movie then goes back to "thirteen years earlier". We meet the young 8 year old Evan Treborn (the adult is played by Ashton Kutcher) who is being raised alone by his mother, a nurse. When he is dropped off at school, Evan's teacher insists on speaking with his mother on an urgent matter. Apparently, as part of a drawing assignment, Evan drew a very disturbing picture of himself holding a knife over a couple of dead bodies. Evan has also started experiencing blackouts where he does not remember what has happened. We then follow Evan's life along with three of his friends, Kayleigh Miller (adult played by Amy Smart), her brother Tommy, and Lenny. The following four episodes are pivotal moments, which are referred to later in the movie. In each, we see that Evan has blacked out certain memories.