There are, it is said, seven basic plots that we can use for creating stories, and "Butterfly Kiss" is clearly in the category "The Quest." In a "Quest" the protagonist will need to make an arduous journey, through difficult and dangerous lands (or across stormy seas), to find the buried treasure, the Holy Grail, the sacred ring, the Golden Fleece, the magic mountain, the Celestial City - or maybe just get back home. It is also likely to be a quest for personal self-fulfilment, the search for a moment of enlightenment, or the completion of one's destiny.
"We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started, And know the place for the first time," as T. S. Eliot put it.
Authors (in this case Frank Cottrell Boyce and Michael Winterbottom) make the rules: what is to be the object of the (successful?) quest, what will count as an obstacle or an enemy, which weapons or skills the protagonist will be able to deploy, and whether there will be one or more companions to share the rigours of the journey. And then the authors have to stick to the rules they have made.
That said, you probably won't like the rulebook that drives "Butterfly Kiss." But it has its own horrific logic. Eunice (Amanda Plummer) is searching for "Judith" in an environment all too familiar to us: highways greater and lesser, with their gas stations and truck stops (this time in England's Lancashire). And there is an elusive melody to be played. Like Christian in "The Pilgrim's Progress" Eunice carries a physical burden, some padlocked chains. Dragons will need to be slain along the way, but these turn out to be shop assistants working at gas stations, and their "crime" is to disappoint Eunice, to fail to meet her needs!
But one young woman does not fail her: Miriam (Saskia Reeves) becomes her companion in the quest, abandoning her helpless mother to pursue a greater destiny. At first Eunice is walking, but the pair are able to commandeer a range of vehicles. And guys, you should not mess with these ladies, because retribution can be swift.
This is a film that will divide audiences. Some viewers will try to fit it into a conventional moral framework - but it will not fit, it cannot fit. Other viewers will be prepared to accept (if not embrace) the bizarre. It might be a comfort (but of course it isn't) to know that humans have done much worse things in real life.
"We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started, And know the place for the first time," as T. S. Eliot put it.
Authors (in this case Frank Cottrell Boyce and Michael Winterbottom) make the rules: what is to be the object of the (successful?) quest, what will count as an obstacle or an enemy, which weapons or skills the protagonist will be able to deploy, and whether there will be one or more companions to share the rigours of the journey. And then the authors have to stick to the rules they have made.
That said, you probably won't like the rulebook that drives "Butterfly Kiss." But it has its own horrific logic. Eunice (Amanda Plummer) is searching for "Judith" in an environment all too familiar to us: highways greater and lesser, with their gas stations and truck stops (this time in England's Lancashire). And there is an elusive melody to be played. Like Christian in "The Pilgrim's Progress" Eunice carries a physical burden, some padlocked chains. Dragons will need to be slain along the way, but these turn out to be shop assistants working at gas stations, and their "crime" is to disappoint Eunice, to fail to meet her needs!
But one young woman does not fail her: Miriam (Saskia Reeves) becomes her companion in the quest, abandoning her helpless mother to pursue a greater destiny. At first Eunice is walking, but the pair are able to commandeer a range of vehicles. And guys, you should not mess with these ladies, because retribution can be swift.
This is a film that will divide audiences. Some viewers will try to fit it into a conventional moral framework - but it will not fit, it cannot fit. Other viewers will be prepared to accept (if not embrace) the bizarre. It might be a comfort (but of course it isn't) to know that humans have done much worse things in real life.