Red Butterfly
| Red Butterfly | |
|---|---|
 Red Butterfly A Tragedy | |
| Directed by | Jon Alston |
| Produced by |
Gerren Crochet Jon Alston |
| Screenplay by | Jon Alston |
| Starring |
Diogo Morgado Christine Evangelista Wilson Jermaine Heredia Marlon Wayans Laurence Mason Byrdie Bell |
| Music by |
Joseph David Johnson Eric Francis Olson JMiles Mitchell Covington |
| Cinematography | Sergei Franklin |
| Edited by |
Robert Brett Thomas Olena Kuhtaryeva |
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Red Butterfly is a postmodern romantic tragedy film written & directed by Jon Alston and starring Diogo Morgado, Christine Evangelista, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Laurence Mason, and Byrdie Bell. Red Butterfly is an original screenplay written by Jon Alston. It is an independently produced feature with subject matter not typical of independent feature film. Alston claims the film's primary audience to be "regular folk who like heavy entertainment." The story of Red Butterfly is inspired by the works of both Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell; it explores the consequences of the unchecked human ego. "Vice is Tragedy" is a theme that Alston claims to have had significance to him upon personal reflection of his time in the NFL. A project sans traditional genre, Red Butterfly combines the zeal of Baz Luhrmann's Rome and Juliet with the melodramatic notes of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream.[1]
Plot
The Lives of Tonio (Morgado), his petty crook best friend, TC (Heredia), and his beautiful lover Cleo (Evangelista) are tightly woven together in this spiraling thriller. "Red Butterfly" is the story of two star-crossed lovers, Tonio and Cleo, whose lives get caught in the crosshairs of TC's hellish nightmare. A local call-girl's death (Carrie) from an apparent drug overdose is the catalyst for a chain of events that can't be undone. When it's discovered that TC may be responsible for this woman's death, he wrangles Tonio to help cover up the act. TC has other plans as the situation rapidly progresses from bad to worse when a weathered Hell's Kitchen detective, Dutch (Laurence Mason), throws himself into the fray. Tonio and TC are destined to collide as TC's paranoia worsens. Cleo's fate is sealed when she finds the bad batch of heroin responsible for Carrie's overdose.
Cast
- Diogo Morgado as Tonio Vega Jr.
- Christine Evangelista as Cleo (Simo) McKenna
- Wilson Jermaine Heredia as TC (Simo)
- Laurence Mason as "Dutch"
- Byrdie Bell as Carrie
James A Stephens as Vinnie the Killer
- Jen Araki as Helena
Production
"Red Butterfly" was produced in New York City, based on an original screenplay written by Jon Alston
Themes
Red Butterfly" is a redemption story. It is an entertaining, yet precautionary tale meant to explore the truths of what it means to battle personal regret. Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces wrote, "Every failure to cope with a life situation must be laid, in the end, to a restriction of consciousness... regrets are illuminations come too late. The whole sense of the ubiquitous myth of the hero's passage is that it shall serve as a general pattern for men and women, wherever they may stand along the scale. Therefore it is formulated in the broadest terms. The individual only has to discover his or her own position with reference to this general formula and let it then assist them past their own restrictive walls."
"After a five year career in the NFL, I wrote Red Butterfly in reflection. Red Butterfly's story is the result of my own illuminations that had come too late. The story is meant to share parts of my own life; Macbeth-like ambition, substance abuse, and self destructive behaviors. These lessons are woven together in the lives of our three leading characters, Tonio, Cleo, and TC.
A number of viewers will cling to TC; a man that has decided he was lost long ago due to the abuse he suffered as a child. Because he identifies himself with his crooked past, he can justify doing what he must to regain control of his own circumstances.
Many will relate to Cleo, a beautiful girl, yet both fragile and insecure. She seeks validation for her beauty, for her worth. Caught in between a controlling brother, and a cheating lover, she lashes out at herself, suffering in silence rather than changing her circumstances. Her esteem is low; she simply believes this is what she deserves for herself. Much of the audience will be drawn to Tonio, the archetypical heartthrob. Long-haired with leather jacket, he is masculinity defined. Yet, for all that he has, he struggles with the idea of what it means to be a man. VICE IS TRAGEDY - this is to say - "Look, do not let your vices take you down, don't let your vice be your own tragedy" - like so many that we've seen before. This is a lesson I had to learn, it is my passion to share it with others." - Director Jon Alston
"Red Butterfly" uses the physical scar that TC (Heredia) receives as a metaphor for the emotional scars that people often carry. As the story unfolds, TC's wound heals and is representative of his acceptance of the scarring of his childhood. To him, there's no return from the deadly path that he is on.
Style
In his directorial debut, Alston delivers a stylish and visually compelling product. Alston claims the direction of "Red Butterfly" is to teeter between scale and claustrophobia, the real world and surrealism. "Red Butterfly" explores surrealism through the character of "TC" played by Wilson Jermaine Heredia. Visually, as TC spirals deeper into psychosis, the tone darkens and pacing of the project slows as the visuals and edits speed up, leading to the climactic scene that juxtaposes the final moments of the fates of each lead character. Alston chose to focus on the eyes of his characters, as he claims the "eyes revealed the truth of what each character could not say in words, but only in emotion."