Review: Fireflies in the Garden

On a surface level, Fireflies in the Garden looks like a film that could easily be ignored amongst the myriad of options that filmgoers have to choose from. Cheesy tagline, a poster reminiscent of a Lifetime Channel movie, and Ryan Reynolds with a beard, which means he'll be serious and not that funny. As life should have taught us all by now, you never judge a book by its cover and Fireflies in the Garden is a good example why. Illustrating the sad and unfortunate way that life has a tendency of being when it shows a family what's really important, this film examines how one family deals with the pain of a sudden loss -- the loss of the one piece of the family that didn't deserve to leave in the first place.

Michael Taylor (Reynolds) is a famous author on a plane to visit his home for his sister's college graduation. In between consciousness on the plane, he flashes back to his childhood to a memory where his father Charles (Willem Dafoe) is berating him for "being so God-damned smart," while his mother Lisa (Julia Roberts) coddles and defends Michael. On the way to celebrate the graduation of their daughter Ryne (Shannon Lucio), Michael's cousin Christopher is playing in the street and when Charles swerves to miss, they run into a pole instantly killing Lisa. This causes a rift in the family bigger than the rift between Michael and Charles.

The Taylor family is an interesting dynamic where Michael's aunt Jane is almost the same age as him. As they get older, Michael is then much older than his cousins Christopher and Leslie. This in turn puts a strain on the friendship shared between Jane and Michael, which is where a couple of the structural problems of Fireflies in the Garden arise. A good deal of time is spent explaining how close Michael and Jane are, but other than a couple of flashbacks where she's nice to him because his father is so rough, it's never fully explained where there that closeness comes from. Most of the time a complaint for a movie could be that it is too long, but here, some of the flashbacks need to be more focused and fleshed out to what the present is trying to tell the viewer.

All of that aside, Fireflies in the Garden is a great film. Hayden Panetierre as a young Jane gave a good performance despite not having much for her character to do. Ryan Reynolds is his usual charming self, bringing levity at the times it's maybe not best to have a sarcastic quip, but as brash as ever. There isn't a singular standout role to be seen here, but the entire cast works well together and really makes the movie work.

All in all, Fireflies in the Garden proves to be a capable debut from writer/director Dennis Lee. It's a charming film about how much life can really suck. Sometimes it's not our fault, sometimes it's easy to see who's at fault, but there are times when it's all worth it. Having been shelved for almost four years, people may now get the chance to see this movie, and it's one that is certainly worth the time investment.

Austin connections: Fireflies in the Garden was shot in Austin, Bastrop and Smithville (back in 2007!). Specific locations include the West Mall of The University of Texas at Austin (photos) and the T.A. Hasler House in Bastrop.