Fireflies in the Garden (2008)

The Taylor family is devastated by an accident that takes place on the day their matriarch is due to graduate from college -- decades after leaving to raise her children.

Director:

Dennis Lee

Writers:

Robert Frost (poem), Dennis Lee

Stars:

Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Reynolds	...	Michael
Willem Dafoe	...	Charles
Emily Watson	...	Jane
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Kelly (as Carrie Anne Moss)
Julia Roberts	...	Lisa
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Addison
Hayden Panettiere	...	Young Jane
Shannon Lucio	...	Ryne
Cayden Boyd	...	Young Michael
George Newbern	...	Jimmy (as George Newburn)
Chase Ellison	...	Christopher
Brooklynn Proulx	...	Leslie
Diane Perella	...	Flight Attendant
Natalie Karp	...	Social Worker
John C. Stennfeld	...	Reverend Byers (as Reverend John Stennfeld)

Storyline

A family with an abusive father, a sensitive son, and a mother out of her depth: we see them when Michael is about 12 and when he's in his 30's, a writer of romance novels, going home for his mother and sister's college graduations. We go back and forth between the two periods: when Michael is a boy, the pressure builds to the point when the thin thread keeping them as a family threatens to break, and there's a fight. During Michael's trip home, there's an unexpected death which prolongs his stay and brings to the light his relationship with his father, his aunt, and her young children. Michael's estranged wife joins them for the funeral.

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Plot Keywords:

cheating wife | girl in panties | panties | aunt | author | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes a family must come apart before it can come together

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 July 2008 (Greece)

Also Known As:

Luciérnagas en el jardín

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,884, 14 October 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,393,161, 3 November 2011

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,393,161, 3 November 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kulture Machine, Senator Entertainment Co

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min (theatrical) 120 min 94 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Julia Roberts is married to the film's cinematographer, Daniel Moder.

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Goofs

When Kelly first appears walking into the house after the funeral, the boom mic is visibly above the doorway.

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Quotes

Jimmy: [to Michael] Gotta tell you my kids love it here. Christopher's in your old room and Leslie here is in Ryne's.
[turns to Leslie]
Jimmy: Say hello to your cousin.
Michael: [to Leslie, when she doesn't say anything] You're short.
Jimmy: [to Michael] Yeah guest room's upstairs, second door on the right, but I guess you know that because uh this is your home.
Leslie: Uncle Charlie said it's our home now.
Jimmy: You're right honey, it is our home now. But um, Michael grew up here so... it's his home, too.
Leslie: But it's our home.
Jimmy: [picks Leslie up]
[...]

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Connections

References Ergo Proxy (2006)

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Soundtracks

Am I Black Enough
Performed by Turntable Bay
Written by David Hadland, Scott Schorr & Victor Williams
Courtesy of Lazy Bones Recordings

User Reviews

Beautiful, tragic and inspiring

Fireflies in the garden is a very tragic, beautiful and at sometimes awe inspiring. Fireflies in the garden is based on a poem by the legendary Robert Frost and is what inspired this film. This magnificent piece of movie making stars Ryan Reynolds as Michael Taylor a very accomplished and well liked novelist who while going home for a family reunion is meet with an unexpected and heartbreaking tragedy. This film is a study of the human emotion and how one death can lead you to find your way back to the people who love and care for you.

Fireflies in the garden is a beautiful film that will have your heart wrenching and at sometimes soaring above new heights. I lost my mom last year to cancer, so this movie was very hard for me to watch, but I made it trough to the end but not without shedding a river full of tears. In our lives we all lose someone we love and we all regret that we didn't do anything different or we didn't bother to be there for them when we were needed the most, and this film tells a story that can make you come to terms with that feeling. It can make you feel like not all is lost and that the grass is greener on the other side.

Ryan Reynolds, Julia Roberts, William Defoe and Carrie-Anne Moss deliver earth shattering performances in a movie that should be recognized as one of the best of 2008, this film should be released commercially to people so that they can experience a movie that will truly touch your heart in many way's. Fireflies in the garden is now and will always be one of my favorite films of all time, and I hope it will be one of yours too.