Fireflies in the Garden (2008)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good movie but grossly overrated

A Masterpiece!

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This is a fairly good film with a good cast. However, it is Emily Watson who shines in what good have been a rather insignificant role if not for her utter brilliance. She brings a realistic fire and passion to the role of a protective mother who witnessed the abuse perpetrated by a savagely disordered relative while she was a child. Perhaps what was most interesting about her presence in the film is that she towers over the pathetically inadequate Julia Roberts in talent, depth, and even beauty. Roberts may have an Academy Award (a joke) and Emily Watson may have only been nominated twice (an utter outrage she has not been recognized by the Academy), but pay attention to what they accomplish in their respective parts. Watson is a true actor while Roberts is a mere curiosity in her pitiful attempts to be something other than what she is. It is Watson who the audience can not take their eyes off of and they hang on her every word. While this motion picture is worth seeing on its own terms, it is Emily Watson who makes it memorable and a film with meaning and beauty.

This film could have been so much more enjoyable if we (my wife and I) didn't have to spend most of the movie trying to sort out who was related to whom,. "Sister?" ... "I think she's his aunt, but I can't be sure." ... "Brothers?" ... "Bests me; there are simply too many characters in the plot to keep track of who's who." And the time warps are unreal. Jumping from boyhood to manhood and back again ... over and over ... made the film even more difficult to follow. Kind of like trying to follow the movements of a broken time machine. It is rare that we take the time to review any movie, but this one begged a comment. Was the film editor asleep, just splicing scenes in at random? The actors did an excellent job, but I wonder if the actors approved the jumbled up way the plot unfolds given the erratic film editing.I would have rated this movie an "8" or perhaps even a "9" had it not been for the two major problems outlined above. It could have been really outstanding.

The backstory is as interesting as is the movie itself. Writer/director Lee lost his own mother just a few years ago and much of Michael here can be considered autobiographical.The very first scene sets the mood and establishes the key family dynamics. Dad, mom, and young Michael are in the car, it is raining, young Michael is putting his hand on the rear window. Dad rhetorically asks "How many times have I told you not to touch the glass?" Michael pulls his hand away, but not long after defiantly puts it back. Dad stops the car, Michael gets out in the rain, dad says "You remember how to get home." The perfect family is most often a myth, outsiders see a mom, dad, and one or more kids all seemingly in perfect harmony. But dynamics inside the family, in the car, at the dinner table, in the garage, often paint a much different picture.In this story the mother is the "frame" that holds everything together. But when she is gone, what happens? Ryan Reynolds is good in a serious role as Michael Taylor , who as a young adult is an author. He is coming home for his sister's graduation. On the plane a flight attendant brings a copy of his book and asks if he would sign it, which he does willingly.Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as the dad, professor Charles Taylor . Julia Roberts is the mom, Lisa Taylor , who gave up her career to function as an at-home mom.I will admit that the first few scenes were a bit off-putting, as they switched seemingly randomly between the past and the present. My wife and I had a bit of difficulty figuring out who each character was and how they were related. But getting past that it turned out to be a good story of family dynamics.SPOILERS: Charles is very difficult, very controlling, yet also in need of a certain amount of ego-stroking. Lisa understands him well and helps keep things balanced. But while they are going to pick up Lisa's sister, sis's son is in the street retrieving a home-run hit by his little sister. Momentarily distracted by Lisa's need to put on makeup in the car, Charlie veers to avoid the boy and crashes into a utility pole. Lisa was not wearing her seat belt, the car was perhaps too old to have air bags, and Lisa died. The aftermath threw family members into a renewed state of unrest but eventually Michael and Charlie begin to manage their differences. In going through some papers and phone call records of his mom's he figures out she had been having an affair and was in fact planning on leaving Charlie. Michael looked up the man and in essence thanked his for giving a bit of happiness to his mom, after all after she was dead there was no additional consequence.

It's taken 4 years for FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN to premier in the USA. Whilst it has been screened since 2008 in some parts of the world it never seems to have made its way to light. This baffles me. What exactly went wrong at the production houses? Is that why this didn't see its way through out until now? Honestly I have no clue. One of the best works I have seen by far of Ryan Reynolds; with comparison to him suiting up in green early this summer in GREEN LANTERN.Redemption; what do we know about this? Are we capable of deliverance from all the dark deeds we have done of the past? Have they just been merely forgotten with time? Are we fooled by this forgetful nature of man and perceive forgetfulness as a form of redemption? I am familiar with the term forgive and forget, does this mean that once we remember we withdraw the forgiveness once given? This may sound quite an eccentric school of thought; however this is exactly where writer/director Dennis Lee has left me hanging. Undoubtedly the most realistic and unorthodox script I have come across for 2011. Being unorthodox is the latest fad in writing. The more twisted the plot is the more WOW the audience becomes. However many of such scripts are always on far-fetched realms of reality. Many of them will never come to life unlike FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN. Families that are broken down due to poverty, adultery or merely due to vanity are quite common today. Divorce which was once a word that was frowned upon is now household. What goes on within a family that is broken from within however yet is holding on? How will you grow up when your father is a raging alcoholic who beats you and the rest of your family? How will you grow up if you father is domineering and a control freak? Are we products of what has become to us of the past? Indeed we all are. Michael Taylor is no exception. Charlie Taylor runs his own little state prison in house. Young kids don't take to this sort of treatment quite well, some of them will retaliate and some will bottle it all in until one day they will put it all out. The falling out between Michael and Charlie has been over 17 years until the entire family is to reunite on the occasion of celebrating Lisa's graduation. Instead of coming home to his parents, Michael walks into his mother funeral and his father hospitalization following a fatal motor accident. Michael who is a very successful published author returns with the hope of forgiveness. However will this sudden turn of events wipe away that trail of thought? Will Michael ever be able to forgive his father? Follow closely on the sharp symbolisms used by Dennis Lee and you will for sure understand if it's forgiven or if it's just being forgotten!A beautiful drama for those of you who enjoy a more realistic feel to your theatrical experience. A wonderful showcase of talent by Ryan Reynolds, Willie Dafoe and Chase Ellison who plays Christopher. Supporting them alongside the lady with the most famous smile in Hollywood Julia Roberts (Julia takes a back seat in this one lets the others do the work) heroes star Hayden Panettiere and Emily Watson.Title: Fireflies in the Garden Directed by: Dennis Lee Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Wille Dafoe, Chase Ellison, Hayden Pannettiere, Shannon Lucio, Emily Watson & Julia Roberts Rated: R for language and some sexual content. Rating: 07/10 99 Minutes