Dragonfly (2002)

A grieving doctor is being contacted by his deceased 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:

whitewater rafting | psychotronic film | airstrip | cafeteria | downpour | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Joe Darrow was written with the intention of Harrison Ford taking the part. Ford turned down the role to take a year off from movies.

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Goofs

When Joe is walking down the hall to the nurse after seeing the dead man go into the room, the elevator behind the nurse opens, but in the next shot, it's closed. This was because of a deleted scene in which Joe's dead wife was supposed to appear in the elevator.

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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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Alternate Versions

The DVD also features the following scenes:

• Joe performing surgery and Hugh asking him if he's comfortable playing God
• Joe seeing the boy Jeffrey in his house before waking up from a dream; an alternate end to the dinner where Joe is called away from dinner with the Darrows - they briefly discuss how they tried to get him to go into private practice and then he has a flashback to him and his wife listening to their unborn child
• the bit from the trailer with Emily emerging from the hospital elevator mentioned earlier
• and another bit where Joe sees a beckoning Emily in the hospital as a nurse discusses a eye transplant.

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Connections

Referenced in Inside the Actors Studio: Episode #8.5 (2001)

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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

Astonishingly Tender

If you check your cynicism at the door, "Dragonfly" is astonishing in its tenderness. It's beautifully shot (Dean Semler of "Dances with Wolves" and "Waterworld") and well-acted. It's a refreshing alternative to the testosterone-driven films like "John Q", "Collateral Damage" and myriad war movies like "We Were Soldiers". Kevin Costner is inexplicably Hollywood's whipping boy but he still manages to make varied, provocative choices in his projects. While I wanted to resist the heart-tug of the ending, I found I simply couldn't. If you let it, "Dragonfly" will take you someplace sweet.

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

22 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dragonfly

Filming Locations:

Arcadia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,216,025, 24 February 2002

Gross USA:

$30,323,400

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$52,323,400

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:

2.39 : 1