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DVD Review: Fireflies in the Garden

Emily Watson and Ryan Reynolds


Director: Dennis Lee
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Julia Roberts, Hayden Panettiere
Genre(s): Drama
Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 2011
DVD Release Date: February 7, 2012
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 20%






What is perhaps most painful about David Lee's semi-autobiographical drama, Fireflies in the Garden, is that it was released five years after it was filmed.  While some films, like the upcoming well-reviewed horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods, age well after being left on the shelf for longer than usual, this is not the cast for Fireflies, a drama that fails to live up to the trailers' implications of the film being a reinvention of the genre.

Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern) plays a best-selling novelist who is returning to his hometown for his mother's (Julia Roberts, Larry Crowne) college graduation.  After an unexpected tragedy occurs, Reynolds' characters is left to attempt to make peace with his seemingly evil but apparently good-intentioned father, played by Willem Defoe (John Carter), and also has dealings with his caring aunt (War Horse's Emily Watson).  In flashbacks, she is played by Heroes' Hayden Panettiere; within the course of one particular summer, we witness the abuse that Defoe's character inflicts upon his son.  

The movie contains no shortage of acting talent, led by an impressively dramatic turn by Reynolds, who at the time of the filming was primarily given supporting roles.  A scraggly beard, glasses, and shabby demeanor strip him of his handsomeness, which allows him to utilize his deeply-buried dramatic acting abilities.  Willem Defoe, Emily Watson, and a very young-looking Hayden Panettiere are similarly affecting in their roles.  

Yet, this is hardly enough to make up for the inadequate characterizations in the script.  I had heard rumors that earlier cuts of the film contained 20 or more minutes of footage, which perhaps would have been beneficial, as the ending is needlessly abrupt and confounding.

Similarly, it is unfathomable how/why Roberts' character remains so passive and allows her husband to behave in such a harsh manner towards their son. Roberts is by no means a terrible actress; merely, she is given little material of substance, though this could be said of the majority of the other characters.

Additionally, I found the tone(s) of the movie to be a bit odd, at times.  In one particular scene, Reynolds' character and his estranged wife, a rather boring Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), have sex in the house where a funeral is taking place.  It is meant to be funny and a sort of comic relief, but it is turns out to be disturbingly inappropriate.

Regardless, I believe this film had tremendous potential, especially if the characterizations had been expanded a great deal.  The committed performances alone raise my grade to a more-than-generous "C.


Grade: C
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