Dragonfly (2002)

A grieving doctor is being contacted by his late wife through his patients near death experiences.

Director:

Tom Shadyac

Writers:

Brandon Camp (story), Mike Thompson (story),

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Susanna Thompson, Joe Morton

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Joe Darrow
Susanna Thompson	...	Emily Darrow
Joe Morton	...	Hugh Campbell
Ron Rifkin	...	Charlie Dickinson
Kathy Bates	...	Mrs. Belmont
Robert Bailey Jr.	...	Jeffrey Reardon
Jacob Smith	...	Ben
Jay Thomas	...	Hal
Lisa Banes	...	Flora
Matt Craven	...	Eric
Casey Biggs	...	Neil Darrow
Leslie Hope	...	Charisse Darrow
Peter Hansen	...	Phillip Darrow
Mary Beth Fisher	...	Eulogist
Kim Staunton	...	Intake Nurse

Storyline

Dr. Joe Darrow is a recently widowed doctor. He is grieving due to the death of his pregnant wife in a Red Cross mission in Venezuela. Although being atheist, he began to believe that his dead wife wants to communicate with him, through her young patients in the Pediatrics of a Chicago hospital.

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Plot Keywords:

patient | death | doctor | dying | near death experience | 

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Taglines:

When someone you love dies... are they gone forever?

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material and mild sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

22 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

El misterio de la libélula

Filming Locations:

Arcadia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$955,931 (Spain) (16 August 2002)

Gross:

$1,912,216 (Spain) (23 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Gran Via

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The aircraft is a Cessna Cardinal RG.

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Goofs

When Mrs. Belmont gives Joe a package that came in the mail, it is addressed to "Dr. Emily Darrow". When we see the package again in a later shot, it is addressed to just "Emily Darrow".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Emily Darrow: [over the phone] It's bad, Joe. They're evacuating the villages. We're about to be washed out. We're hearing gunfire now.
Joe Darrow: Can you... can you get to Calamar? Can you get across the border to Columbia?
Emily Darrow: They're putting us on the bus. I don't know where they're taking us. Joe? Joe?
Joe Darrow: Emily!

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Evan Almighty (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Star"
Written by Randy Coleman
Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Gavin MacKillop
Performed by Zoo Story
Courtesy of 3:33 Music Group

User Reviews

Interesting premise falls flat in final acts

There is something strange about 'Dragonfly'. It is not a thriller in its subject but it deals with it as if it's a thriller. Even more strange, in some scenes it actually succeeds in that. I mean, when your wife has died and she is trying to reach you from the other side is something else than simply seeing dead people. Your wife probably has the best intentions and although it is creepy you do not have to be scared of your dead wife. I guess. The man who thinks his dead wife is trying to reach him is Joe Darrow (Kevin Costner). Is he going mad, a premise for a dramatic film, or is he really connecting to the other side?

At times where his wife is communicating with Joe, at least to Joe's knowledge, the film breaths a creepy atmosphere with a cinematography and score that make things suspenseful. But the film does not have its focus on whether Joe is going mad or not, but on how scary it is when a dead person talks to you. That there is actually suspense shows that there is some nice film-making to be found here. The premise is interesting, although not that new, but especially the final act in the film goes wrong at crucial points. There is a moment where I thought the film was over, I will not reveal where, but at that time certain things were left in the middle. It felt like the right ending. But then the film continues, providing it with an ending that must have popped into many heads from the audience, probably dismissed by a lot for being too ridiculous.

Still, the premise and the first hour are good enough to keep us entertained and although it should not work as a thriller, it does. Watching it like that without thinking too much could help you like this film in one way or another.