Fireflies In The Garden (2007/Sony DVD)
Picture: C+ Sound: B- Extras: C Film: B-
Dennis
Lee’s Fireflies In The Garden (2007)
is yet another film with an all-star cast you likely missed but deserved more
promotion than it got. Ryan Reynolds is
the writer who has to deal with a very painful past due to an awful
relationship with his dysfunctional father (Willem Dafoe) and loving mother
(Julia Roberts) who did her best to fix things, but could only do so much. Emily Watson, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hayden
Panettiere are among the fine supporting cast.
The
script goes back and fourth between the son as child and now as successful
writer, but much is unfinished and when the family has to come back together
for a weekend, the repressed and un-dealt with return in all kinds of
ways. Though not a great film, this has
some hard-to-watch moments and some honest ones, almost undermined by a few
that don’t work, but this is more than just the usual phony generic melodrama
and this is some of the best work all the actors involved have done in the last
few years, so that alone is reason to see it.
At about 90 minutes, this could have been longer if Lee had found ways
to say even more, but it is an ambitious project worth seeking out.
The anamorphically
enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is a little softer than I would have liked, but maybe a
Blu-ray would bring out more of the fine shooting here. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix works better with
good ambient surrounds and some good recording, plus good use of music and music
in the mix. The only extra is a Making
Of featurette entitled Flash Of Life.
- Nicholas Sheffo
