BLACK BUTTERFLY: WRITER'S BLOCK

What’s really enjoyable about writing reviews on movies is that it presents you with the opportunity to see some movies that didn’t get either a nationally released theatrical run or that fell under the radar of most people. These films nearly always make it to disc format and can be found either online to order or at the local rental location to be seen. The problem is that no one has heard of them. Which is why I’m always glad to direct people to something good they might have otherwise missed. Such is the case with BLACK BUTTERFLY.

The film opens with the abduction of a mother just after a picnic but quickly changes gears. Antonio Banderas stars as Paul, a reclusive author who has moved on to screenplays and is dealing with major issue of writer’s block. Alone in a rustic cabin several miles from Denver, he drinks constantly and accomplishes little else. He’s trying to sell the house with little success to date.

Meeting with his realtor Laura (Piper Perabo) at a local diner, he’s confronted by a truck driver he passed on the road. Before the driver can do any damage to him he’s manhandled from the diner by a young man sitting at the counter who takes him outside and says something to him to make him leave. Both leave, things settle and Paul ends up making a date with Laura.

Driving home Paul see the young man walking along the road and offers him a ride. Jack (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is hitchhiking to nowhere specific and Paul suggest he at least spend the night at his place as late as it is. The two seem to hit it off and over dinner have a conversation about what it is Paul does and what has happened to him. He explains his early success, his selling out to Hollywood and his inability to write now. He blames all of this on the loss of his wife who left him and took everything she could from him. Jack offers to fix a few things around the house in return for Paul’s hospitality and the meal ends.

The next day Paul wakes to find that Jack has cleaned up the house, made breakfast and is about to start working on repairs. Their relationship changes as Jack suggest to Paul that his problems stem from something other than his wife, they stem from his drinking issues. He offers to stay a few days and makes a bargain with him. He’ll help him find his direction in return for staying there.

What happens then is that the dynamics of this relationship begin to change as Paul slowly finds out more about Jack, finds clippings about various women gone missing in the area and what appear to be some sort of surgical tools in his bag and eventually an eruption between the two where Jack has basically taken Paul prisoner in his own home. All of this will result in several tense moments when people come to the house for everything from grocery delivery to Laura wondering why Paul didn’t show for their date. With Jack in control what will happen each knock on the door becomes a nail biting moment.

All of this is what sets the ball in motion and to give any more away would be ruining it for those who choose to watch this movie. It might not be a blockbuster film but it definitely entertains. Both Banderas and Meyers turn in great performances. Banderas comes off as a bit of a milquetoast, a man who has been beaten down with his lot in life and lost his way. Meyers as the somewhat psychotic muse there to help redirect Paul back to the person he once was is chilling in the most subtle of manners.

There are things I’d love to say about this film but in doing so would ruin it for you if you choose to view it. Even the slightest of warnings with the words “spoiler alert” could demolish what the film sets up between the starting images and ending ones. Suffice to say that it is a solid mystery that will leave you wanting more. The pacing isn’t fast but the story slowly unspools and is quite satisfying by the end. Once more this film feels like an overlooked gem sent straight to DVD. It deserves to be watched and hopefully you’ll choose to do so.

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