Butterfly on a Wheel
Encyclopedia
Butterfly on a Wheel is a 2007
Canadian
thriller film directed by Mike Barker
, co-produced and written by William Morrissey, and starring Pierce Brosnan
, Gerard Butler
, and Maria Bello
. The film’s title is an allusion
to a line of Alexander Pope
’s poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot
": “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
” The line is usually interpreted as questioning why someone would put massive effort into achieving something minor or unimportant. Or, who would punish a minor offender with a disproportional punishment.
) and his wife, Abby Randall (Maria Bello
) have the perfect life and a perfect marriage. With their beautiful young daughter, Sophie, they are living the American dream... until today. When Sophie is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to comply with the abductor's demands. The kidnapper, Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan
), a cold and calculating sociopath, takes over their lives with the brutal efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose.
In the blink of an eye, Neil and Abby's safe and secure existence is turned upside down. Over the next twenty-four hours they are at the mercy of a man who wants only one thing: that they do his bidding. It soon becomes clear that Ryan's demands are all the more terrifying because he doesn't want their money. What he wants is Neil and Abby's life, the life they have built over 10 years, to be systematically dismantled and destroyed, piece by piece.
With time running out on their little girl, Neil and Abby realize their nightmare is just about to begin. They will have to submit to Ryan's challenges over the next 24 hour period. How far will they go to save the life of their child? They are asked to withdraw money from the bank which Tom burns and throws along with their wallets out of the car. They have to get $300 from nowhere in a part of the town where they don't have any friends. Abby pledges her bracelet and Neil his watch which gets them the $300. They are then asked to deliver a courier to some place within 20 min, and Tom reveals to Neil that the cover contains dirty details of Neil's job, which if leaked will ruin Neil. This goes on, with efforts by them to rescue Sophie from the Hotel, only to get caught by Tom, who makes Abby strip and change in front of them, etc.
The denouement is revealed only in the last few minutes. Neil and Tom's wife (Judy) are colleagues at work and have been having an affair for a while: and Tom has come to know of it. On that day, Neil and Judy were planning to meet for a rendezvous. Tom wants to put Neil through the pain he had undergone and surprisingly Abby plays along with his plan.
Neil lies to Abby when they are returning home that someone else was having an affair with Judy and Tom mistook Neil to be that person, which is why Tom had tormented them the whole day. Abby reveals the details at the very end to Neil, that in truth their daughter has not been kidnapped, she knows of the affair between Neil and Judy, the cover delivered contained only blank sheets, etc. Abby is paying back Neil the pain she went through on learning of the affair and played the game along with Tom.
joined the film's cast in late 2005
. Maria Bello
and Gerard Butler
joined production on January 19, 2006.
Filming began in February, 2006 and finished the following May. Vancouver
stands in for Chicago
but the production shot in the latter city for landscapes before moving to the United Kingdom
for post-production
. Filming also took place in Los Angeles
.
'.
Story of Marathi serial 'Guntata Hriday He' is also based on this movie.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
thriller film directed by Mike Barker
Mike Barker (film director)
- Filmography :*Butterfly on a Wheel *A Good Woman *To Kill a King *Lorna Doone *Best Laid Plans *The James Gang - External links :*...
, co-produced and written by William Morrissey, and starring Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
, Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
, and Maria Bello
Maria Bello
Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
. The film’s title is an allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
to a line of Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
’s poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot
Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot
The Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot is a satire in poetic form written by Alexander Pope and addressed to his friend John Arbuthnot, a physician. It was first published in 1735 and composed in 1734, when Pope learned that Arbuthnot was dying. Pope described it as a memorial of their friendship...
": “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?
"Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" is a quotation – sometimes misquoted with "on" in place of "upon" – from Alexander Pope's "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" of January 1735...
” The line is usually interpreted as questioning why someone would put massive effort into achieving something minor or unimportant. Or, who would punish a minor offender with a disproportional punishment.
Plot summary
Chicago residents Neil Randall (Gerard ButlerGerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
) and his wife, Abby Randall (Maria Bello
Maria Bello
Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
) have the perfect life and a perfect marriage. With their beautiful young daughter, Sophie, they are living the American dream... until today. When Sophie is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to comply with the abductor's demands. The kidnapper, Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
), a cold and calculating sociopath, takes over their lives with the brutal efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose.
In the blink of an eye, Neil and Abby's safe and secure existence is turned upside down. Over the next twenty-four hours they are at the mercy of a man who wants only one thing: that they do his bidding. It soon becomes clear that Ryan's demands are all the more terrifying because he doesn't want their money. What he wants is Neil and Abby's life, the life they have built over 10 years, to be systematically dismantled and destroyed, piece by piece.
With time running out on their little girl, Neil and Abby realize their nightmare is just about to begin. They will have to submit to Ryan's challenges over the next 24 hour period. How far will they go to save the life of their child? They are asked to withdraw money from the bank which Tom burns and throws along with their wallets out of the car. They have to get $300 from nowhere in a part of the town where they don't have any friends. Abby pledges her bracelet and Neil his watch which gets them the $300. They are then asked to deliver a courier to some place within 20 min, and Tom reveals to Neil that the cover contains dirty details of Neil's job, which if leaked will ruin Neil. This goes on, with efforts by them to rescue Sophie from the Hotel, only to get caught by Tom, who makes Abby strip and change in front of them, etc.
The denouement is revealed only in the last few minutes. Neil and Tom's wife (Judy) are colleagues at work and have been having an affair for a while: and Tom has come to know of it. On that day, Neil and Judy were planning to meet for a rendezvous. Tom wants to put Neil through the pain he had undergone and surprisingly Abby plays along with his plan.
Neil lies to Abby when they are returning home that someone else was having an affair with Judy and Tom mistook Neil to be that person, which is why Tom had tormented them the whole day. Abby reveals the details at the very end to Neil, that in truth their daughter has not been kidnapped, she knows of the affair between Neil and Judy, the cover delivered contained only blank sheets, etc. Abby is paying back Neil the pain she went through on learning of the affair and played the game along with Tom.
Cast
- Pierce BrosnanPierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
- Tom Ryan - Gerard ButlerGerard ButlerGerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
- Neil Randall - Maria BelloMaria BelloMaria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
- Abby Randall - Callum Keith RennieCallum Keith RennieCallum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
- Detective McGrath - Dustin MilliganDustin MilliganDustin Wallace Milligan is a Canadian film and television actor known for his role as Ethan Ward on 90210.-Life and career:...
- Matt Ryan - Claudette MinkClaudette MinkClaudette Mink is a Canadian actress.-Filmography:Television* Fringe : Captain Diane Burgess – 1 episode* Harper's Island : Katherine Wellington – 9 episodes* Reaper : Cindy – 1 episode...
- Judy Ryan
Production
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
joined the film's cast in late 2005
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
. Maria Bello
Maria Bello
Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
and Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
joined production on January 19, 2006.
Filming began in February, 2006 and finished the following May. Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
stands in for Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
but the production shot in the latter city for landscapes before moving to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
. Filming also took place in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Remake
The movie has been adapted into Malayalam in India, under the name 'CocktailCocktail (2010 film)
Cocktail is a 2010 Malayalam thriller film edited and directed by Arun Kumar. The film stars Jayasurya, Anoop Menon, Samvrutha Sunil, Fahad Fazil, Innocent, and Mamukkoya. It is co-written by Anoop Menon and is an uncredited remake of the Canadian film Butterfly on a Wheel...
'.
Story of Marathi serial 'Guntata Hriday He' is also based on this movie.