Fireflies in the Garden
Encyclopedia
Fireflies in the Garden is a 2011 drama film starring Willem Dafoe
, Ryan Reynolds
, and Julia Roberts
. Written and directed by Dennis Lee, the film premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival
, but did not get released in the United States until October 14, 2011.
Fireflies in the Garden is set in the present day, and revolves around three generations of a family, with flash-backs to their growing up. A major focus is on domineering father Charles (Willem Dafoe
) and his strained relationships with son Michael (young: Cayden Boyd
; adult: Ryan Reynolds
), sister-in-law Jane (young: Hayden Panettiere
; adult: Emily Watson
) and other family members.
A terrible accident on the way to a family reunion with Charles and wife Lisa (Julia Roberts
) at Jane's house, and the ensuing funeral set the scene for Michael to discover/uncover much about the inner lives and affairs of this family and finding a route to reconciliation.
) family, his wife Lisa (Julia Roberts
), their two children: son Michael (young: Cayden Boyd
; adult: Ryan Reynolds
) and daughter Ryne (Shannon Lucio
), as well as Lisa's (much younger) sister Jane (young: Hayden Panettiere
; adult: Emily Watson
), and her son Christopher (Chase Ellison
) and daughter Leslie (Brooklynn Proulx) as well as Michael's ex-wife Kelly Hanson (Carrie-Anne Moss
).
Charles and Michael had, and still have, a strained relationship, with both pushing the other. In a flash-back to a boyhood car journey, the younger Michael claims to have lost his glasses, while knowing he simply has them in his pocket. Without knowing this deceit, Charles makes Michael walk home in the rain as a punishment. This tit-for-tat of rules, and rule-breaking continues with Charles imposing on all around him, including Jane, who is staying with them. She, too, hates Charles' domineering nature. The two form a kind of pact against Charles. When Michael embarrasses Charles in front of his colleagues by falsely claiming to have written a poem, Fireflies in the Garden by Robert Frost
, he is punished by having to hold his weighted arms horizontal, aching so much that at the end, he cannot even take food to his mouth. Jane feeds him. As they grow older the conflicts escalate, with a growing Michael eventually intervening in a quarrel between his parents, attacking Charles and forcing him to the ground.
A critical dramatic event in the film occurs with a tragic car accident as Charles and Lisa drive to a family reunion at Jane's house in honour of Lisa's college graduation. Driving hurriedly, Charles swerves to avoid colliding with Christopher, who crosses the road carelessly, and their car hits a tree, leaving Lisa dead, Charles injured, and both Charles and Christopher feeling guilty.
Michael takes Jane's children Christopher and Leslie "fishing", attempting to cheer them up by exploding the fish with firecracker
s, as he had done with Jane growing up. Concerned what Charles and Jane will think, he encourages the children to lie to their mother about the trip. As predicted, Charles and Jane consider his behavior inappropriate. Michael's having noisy sex with ex-wife Kelly, who arrives for the funeral, does not help matters.
The events of the accident and consequent guilt and anxiety see an upset Christopher running away, only to be found by Michael who assures him that he is not to blame for Lisa's death. Christopher insists on walk home alone after their talk, and Michael gives him his cell phone in case he changes his mind. Immediately discarding the phone, Christopher remains missing for several hours, Jane again blaming Michael for leaving Christopher (who is found safely). More revelations and recriminations ensue, as Michael discovers that his late mother was having an affair with her young professor Addison (Ioan Gruffudd
), and had planned to leave Charles following her graduation. Jane also discovers, whilst she and Kelly drive around looking for Christopher, that Kelly is pregnant and that Michael doesn't know. Michael and Kelly reconcile and they announce their news to the family before they leave. Whilst discussing baby names with Ryne and Kelly, Michael mentions that he likes the name Max for a boy, a name previously suggested by Lisa for Ryne, had she been a boy.
The title of the film derives from the name of Michael's book about his childhood - taken from a scene in their lives, where Michael, Christopher and Leslie are having fun in the garden batting fireflies
with badminton rackets, in the dark. The revelations of the book concerned Charles and Jane, and in a sense the film see the history of the book told, and then re-written. This is brought home in a scene where the surviving family is watching an old home movie and, perhaps surprised by the happiness it captures, Charles and Michael begin to reconcile. Michael destroys the manuscript.
(including the University of Texas), Bastrop
, and Smithville
, Texas
. The historic T. A. Hasler House
in Bastrop was used significantly in the film.
with the consenus saying: "Despite boasting a stellar cast, Fireflies in the Garden is just tedious, dull and predictable melodrama. Instantly forgettable."
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
, Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
, and Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
. Written and directed by Dennis Lee, the film premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, but did not get released in the United States until October 14, 2011.
Fireflies in the Garden is set in the present day, and revolves around three generations of a family, with flash-backs to their growing up. A major focus is on domineering father Charles (Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
) and his strained relationships with son Michael (young: Cayden Boyd
Cayden Boyd
Cayden Michael Boyd is an American teen actor. He is best known for his main character role as Max in the Robert Rodriguez's film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.-Life:...
; adult: Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
), sister-in-law Jane (young: Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
; adult: Emily Watson
Emily Watson
Emily Watson is an English actress. She gave an acclaimed debut film performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves.- Early life :...
) and other family members.
A terrible accident on the way to a family reunion with Charles and wife Lisa (Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
) at Jane's house, and the ensuing funeral set the scene for Michael to discover/uncover much about the inner lives and affairs of this family and finding a route to reconciliation.
Plot
Set in the present with extensive flash-backs to the past, this film revolves around three generations of domineering father Charles (Willem DafoeWillem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
) family, his wife Lisa (Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
), their two children: son Michael (young: Cayden Boyd
Cayden Boyd
Cayden Michael Boyd is an American teen actor. He is best known for his main character role as Max in the Robert Rodriguez's film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.-Life:...
; adult: Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
) and daughter Ryne (Shannon Lucio
Shannon Lucio
Shannon Lucio is an American actress who played Lindsay Gardner on The O.C..Lucio is a graduate of the University of Southern California and was cast in the lead female role of the CBS television drama Moonlight , but was replaced by Sophia Myles in April 2007...
), as well as Lisa's (much younger) sister Jane (young: Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
; adult: Emily Watson
Emily Watson
Emily Watson is an English actress. She gave an acclaimed debut film performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves.- Early life :...
), and her son Christopher (Chase Ellison
Chase Ellison
Chase Ellison is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in Mysterious Skin and Tooth Fairy.-Life and career:...
) and daughter Leslie (Brooklynn Proulx) as well as Michael's ex-wife Kelly Hanson (Carrie-Anne Moss
Carrie-Anne Moss
-External links:...
).
Charles and Michael had, and still have, a strained relationship, with both pushing the other. In a flash-back to a boyhood car journey, the younger Michael claims to have lost his glasses, while knowing he simply has them in his pocket. Without knowing this deceit, Charles makes Michael walk home in the rain as a punishment. This tit-for-tat of rules, and rule-breaking continues with Charles imposing on all around him, including Jane, who is staying with them. She, too, hates Charles' domineering nature. The two form a kind of pact against Charles. When Michael embarrasses Charles in front of his colleagues by falsely claiming to have written a poem, Fireflies in the Garden by Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
, he is punished by having to hold his weighted arms horizontal, aching so much that at the end, he cannot even take food to his mouth. Jane feeds him. As they grow older the conflicts escalate, with a growing Michael eventually intervening in a quarrel between his parents, attacking Charles and forcing him to the ground.
A critical dramatic event in the film occurs with a tragic car accident as Charles and Lisa drive to a family reunion at Jane's house in honour of Lisa's college graduation. Driving hurriedly, Charles swerves to avoid colliding with Christopher, who crosses the road carelessly, and their car hits a tree, leaving Lisa dead, Charles injured, and both Charles and Christopher feeling guilty.
Michael takes Jane's children Christopher and Leslie "fishing", attempting to cheer them up by exploding the fish with firecracker
Firecracker
A firecracker is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang; any visual effect is incidental to this goal. They have fuses, and are wrapped in a heavy paper casing to contain the explosive compound...
s, as he had done with Jane growing up. Concerned what Charles and Jane will think, he encourages the children to lie to their mother about the trip. As predicted, Charles and Jane consider his behavior inappropriate. Michael's having noisy sex with ex-wife Kelly, who arrives for the funeral, does not help matters.
The events of the accident and consequent guilt and anxiety see an upset Christopher running away, only to be found by Michael who assures him that he is not to blame for Lisa's death. Christopher insists on walk home alone after their talk, and Michael gives him his cell phone in case he changes his mind. Immediately discarding the phone, Christopher remains missing for several hours, Jane again blaming Michael for leaving Christopher (who is found safely). More revelations and recriminations ensue, as Michael discovers that his late mother was having an affair with her young professor Addison (Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...
), and had planned to leave Charles following her graduation. Jane also discovers, whilst she and Kelly drive around looking for Christopher, that Kelly is pregnant and that Michael doesn't know. Michael and Kelly reconcile and they announce their news to the family before they leave. Whilst discussing baby names with Ryne and Kelly, Michael mentions that he likes the name Max for a boy, a name previously suggested by Lisa for Ryne, had she been a boy.
The title of the film derives from the name of Michael's book about his childhood - taken from a scene in their lives, where Michael, Christopher and Leslie are having fun in the garden batting fireflies
Firefly
Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies...
with badminton rackets, in the dark. The revelations of the book concerned Charles and Jane, and in a sense the film see the history of the book told, and then re-written. This is brought home in a scene where the surviving family is watching an old home movie and, perhaps surprised by the happiness it captures, Charles and Michael begin to reconcile. Michael destroys the manuscript.
Cast
- Julia RobertsJulia RobertsJulia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
as Lisa Taylor - Ryan ReynoldsRyan ReynoldsRyan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
as Michael Taylor - Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as Charles Taylor - Emily WatsonEmily WatsonEmily Watson is an English actress. She gave an acclaimed debut film performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves.- Early life :...
as Jane Lawrence - Carrie-Anne MossCarrie-Anne Moss-External links:...
as Kelly Hanson - Shannon LucioShannon LucioShannon Lucio is an American actress who played Lindsay Gardner on The O.C..Lucio is a graduate of the University of Southern California and was cast in the lead female role of the CBS television drama Moonlight , but was replaced by Sophia Myles in April 2007...
as Ryne Taylor - Hayden PanettiereHayden PanettiereHayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
as Young Jane Lawrence - Cayden BoydCayden BoydCayden Michael Boyd is an American teen actor. He is best known for his main character role as Max in the Robert Rodriguez's film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.-Life:...
as Young Michael Taylor - Ioan GruffuddIoan GruffuddIoan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...
as Addison - Chase EllisonChase EllisonChase Ellison is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in Mysterious Skin and Tooth Fairy.-Life and career:...
as Christopher - Brooklynn ProulxBrooklynn ProulxBrooklynn Marie Proulx is a Canadian child actress. she was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada and currently lives in Calgary, Alberta. Her first film was playing Paris Jackson in a film about popstar Michael Jackson....
as Leslie
Production
The film was shot in AustinAustin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
(including the University of Texas), Bastrop
Bastrop, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 5340 people in Bastrop, organized into 2034 households and 1336 families. The population density is 734.8 people per square mile . There are 2,239 housing units at an average density of 308.1 per square mile...
, and Smithville
Smithville, Texas
Smithville is a city in Bastrop County, Texas, United States, near the Colorado River. The population was 3,901 at the 2000 census. The population grew to an estimated 4,339 for 2004.-History:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The historic T. A. Hasler House
T. A. Hasler House
The T. A. Hasler House is a Classical Revival style house located in Bastrop, Texas. The two-story house was renovated from a farm-house-style dwelling by Marie Hasler, after the death of her husband T. A. Hasler. The structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 22,...
in Bastrop was used significantly in the film.
Reception
The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics. It holds a 21% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
with the consenus saying: "Despite boasting a stellar cast, Fireflies in the Garden is just tedious, dull and predictable melodrama. Instantly forgettable."