Black Butterfly

This film tells the story of a reclusive writer, who gets into a fight in a diner. A stranger helps him out, therefore the writer offers the stranger a place to stay. Little does the writer know, things will go the wrong way, and he is soon taken prisoner in his own house.

"Black Butterfly" has a thrilling story. The tension and thrill is palpable, especially when the stranger becomes increasingly deranged. One hour into the film, there is a major twist that gets me lost for a moment, but after making sense of the twist, I find it quite clever. It is a thrilling and an enjoyable film.

Paul Lopez (Antonio Banderas) is a struggling hard-drinking writer. His career is troubled. His money problem is forcing him to sell his property through realtor Laura Johnson (Piper Perabo). He gets into a road rage incident with a trucker. Drifter Jack (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) comes to his aid. Paul befriends Jack and brings him back to his home.

This thriller takes a big swing. It starts out with a standard creep story which turns into Misery adjacent. I'm fine with that. It has potential especially with good actors. Then the movie takes that big swing. Looking backwards, it's not a reasonable turn. I get the wish for a shocking reveal, but it relies on too many conveniences. The final scene is an acceptance that the twist is a writer's creation. All in all, I applaud them for taking the big swing even if it doesn't completely work.

I was so close to not recommend it because of the ending. I mean, the final 20 seconds. At first, i hated it. But i thought about it and it probably makes sense if you think who is Banderas' character. Still, i would prefer this movie had a different ending. The one we've watched after the big/penultimate twist happened.

In any case, this is a good mystery/thriller movie. Not a MUST WATCH, not a strong recommendation, there are many better movies to watch, even in this genre. But a fan of this genre will like it. Banderas is not a great actor, still he has a lot of charisma and i like to watch him in movies. Rhys Meyers is amazing, he carries this movie on his shoulders. Perabo is passable.

Watch it without reading anything about the plot. A lot of intense moments. Kinda clever. More mystery than thriller, i mean, if you are looking for action and fights, this is not your movie. Lower your expectations, don't expect something mind blowing and you will enjoy it.

I rarely start watching a movie and try figuring out or realizing the plot so the twist and the end was so awesome and totally surprising but I wish they'd left it there and not added the last twist. Jonathan Rys-Meyers nailed his part, he one seriously talented actor.

This the remake of the French movie "Papillon Noir" directed by Christian Faure at 2008. The story is nearly the same except, an additional scene just at the end, which is a disappointment because it make the film much more simple. I recommend the original French one, especially if you are familiar with the language.