Fireflies in the Garden
2008
**½
Director: Dennis Lee
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Julia Roberts, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hayden Panettiere, Ioan Gruffudd, Cayden Boyd
Dennis Lee's writing and directing debut is an amiable but frustratingly unoriginal story of a dysfunctional family. A troubled writer tries to get over a breakup and is about to publish a highly autobiographical novel, when his mother suddenly dies in a car crash. Through flashbacks we learn that she was just about perfect in every way, whereas his father is a bullying tyrant towards his son. This is a Hollywood drama with indie sensibilities. There are complicated issues, but they are wrapped in a neat happy ending. The film is awash with clichés, which reach their low point when the characters start watching old family videos that capture them at their happiest. The parts are well played but, apart from the protagonist, not properly fleshed out.
