Fireflies in the Garden

 Fireflies in the Garden 2008

• Director: Dennis Lee
• Based on the novel: no, but a poem by Robert Frost
• Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Julia Roberts, Carrie-Ann Moss, Ioan Gruffud, Hayden Panettiere, Shannon Lucio, Cayden Boyd, George Newbern, Chase Ellison, Brooklynn Proulx
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ryan Reynolds – Life, Woman in Gold, Life during Wartime
• Willem Dafoe – Murder on the Orient Express, John Wick, Mr Bean’s Holiday, Paris je t’aime, American Dreamz, Manderlay, The Aviator, Once upon a Time in Mexico, eXistenZ, Lulu on the Bridge, The English Patient, Wild at Heart, Cry-Baby, Born on the 4^th of July, Mississippi Burning, The Last Temptation of Christ, Platoon, Streets of Fire
• Emily Watson – Testament of Youth, The Theory of Everything, The Book Thief, The Politician’s Husband, Wah-Wah, Equilibrium, Punch-Drunk Love, Gosford Park, Cradle Will Rock, Hilary & Jackie, The Boxer, Breaking the Waves
• Julia Roberts – August Osage County, Closer, Mona Lisa’s Smile, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Full Frontal, Erin Brockovich, Runaway Bride, Notting Hill, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Michael Collins, Mary Reilly, The Pelican Brief, Sleeping with the Enemy, Pretty Woman, Steel Magnolias, Mystic Pizza
• Carrie-Ann Moss – Jessica Jones, Humans, Snow Cake, Matrix x 3, Chocolat
• Iaon Gruffudd – The Kid, Amazing Grace, King Arthur, Very Annie Mary, Titanic, Wilde,
• Cayden Boyd – The X-men Last Stand, Mystic River
• Why? Nice title, good cast.
• Seen: 29 August 2021.      

       Family gathering. Tragedy. Death. Old conflicts. Flashbacks of an abusive oppressive father.

       That’s it really. Children, parents, generations, memories, loss, friendship, enmity, old secrets. Standard ingredients. As family dramas go it’s… dramatic. Not my favourite genre but it’s well done and watchable. 

3* of 5.