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Dragonfly 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Tom Shadyac
PG-13, 103 min. (mature themes, profanity) |
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Starring: Kevin Costner, Susanna Thompson, Kathy Bates, Linda Hunt, Joe Morton, Ron Rifkin, Jay Thomas
Producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Mark Johnson, Tom Shadyac
Screenplay: David Seltzer, Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson
Cinematography: Dean Semler
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Released: 2.22.02 (Wide) |
Rating:  (out of ) |
Dragonfly attempts a balancing act between supernatural thriller and melodramatic love story, but instead ends up
somewhere between a watered-down version of The Sixth Sense and the miserable Message in a Bottle.
Hollywood's current infatuation with the supernatural has led to some worthwhile and interesting films in the last few years,
but has also exposed the viewing public to some ludricrous and insulting pictures. Unfortunately, Dragonfly lends itself
to the latter rather than the former, although it's not a complete disaster. Tom Shadyac, who directed Ace Ventura
and Patch Adams, is probably more adept at the comedic genre, and his effort to craft an effective ghost story
is at best a mixed bag. While he has some star power on hand, notably Kevin Costner and Kathy Bates, their characters
are poorly constructed, resulting in confusion as to why we should even care about them. Although watchable, Dragonfly
eventually spirals out of control towards a predictable and laughable conclusion.
Dr. Joe Darrow (Costner) has recently lost his pregnant wife, Emily (Susanna Thompson), in a tragic bus accident while working for
the Red Cross in Venezuela, but her body was never found. He's having trouble moving on with his life, mainly because of a mysterious voice he hears while
wandering the hospital's hallways. Children with near-death experiences in the oncology ward have somehow heard his wife's
voice and have a message for Joe, but once they are revived they can't remember what it is exactly. Coupled with a strange
symbol that keeps appearing and his wife's parrot that goes crazy, Joe is convinced that Emily is trying to contact him. To
keep his sanity intact, his best friend and neighbor (Kathy Bates) tries to convince him that he just needs to get away to
clear his head. But the strangeness continues to the point where Joe begins to piece together what his wife is trying to tell
him, leading to his journey back to the spot where his wife was killed.
Of course in movies such as this, there is the feeling that we're headed for a big "revelation" sooner or later, and Dragonfly
is no exception. If you're paying attention, it's not much of a surprise, so the film's attempt to be the next The Sixth Sense
is an unrealized one. In fact, if you've figured out the twist early in film, which isn't hard to do, the remaining hour or so
can be tiresome. The film didn't need 103 minutes to arrive at its conclusion - this could have been accomplished in about
80 minutes, allowing the audience to save a few minutes getting home.
Maybe the most insulting part of the film occurs during its attempt to spook its audience. Many of the clichéd uses of camera
angles (sudden close-ups) or the cacophony of music that bursts out of nowhere to "scare" the viewer is irritating and
pointless. When will directors realize that there are other ways to frighten an audience? Complete silence, for instance,
can be even more disconcerting than wind, noise, and eerie music. While Shadyac isn't trying to formulate scary scenes,
his time-wasting scenes between Joe, his doctors, and a psychiatrist are unnecessary. I think Shadyac realized the script
didn't leave much room for intelligence, so he conveniently decided to fill in the gaps with superfluous idiocy.
Kevin Costner's appearance in the film isn't surprising considering his string of poor efforts in the last 5-6 years. Also,
his love for the obsessed, lonely character with an insight that others can't see is obvious. At least in his masterpiece,
Dances with Wolves, or the taut JFK of a decade ago, his characters fit the story in a realistic way. Here, his Joe is
baffling because he simply wanders around in a daze without as much as saying hello or goodbye to close friends
or associates. It is believable to be in a state or mourning, however, Joe completely skips this phase and enters the
denying, self-pitying phase that invariably irritates those around him. Kathy Bates looks uncomfortable and lost with
her role, and it does little to add an objective view to an otherwise obviously pro-supernatural film.
Dragonfly gets its name from a birthmark inherent in Emily's family - supposedly it's passed down from one generation to
the next. The film plays up this angle with a large number of dragonflies appearing at Joe's house or in pictures or ornaments
that seem to appear from out of nowhere. I'm not sure why this is important or necessary to the film, other than to signify
that Emily is desperate to get Joe's attention. But again, this is ridiculous. If a spirit or ghost of a person wanted to get
someone's attention, you'd think they'd do a little more than throw a few insects around to garner it. Come to think of it,
that's pretty much what this film tries to accomplish; however, by throwing around a few reused ideas in an attempt to
hit a nerve in its audience, Dragonfly instead ends up squashed on the windshield of implausibility.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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