Dragonfly Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
When someone you love dies... are they gone forever?
Joe Darrow (Kevin Costner) lost his wife, Emily (Susanna Thompson), in a bus accident in South America. It's hard for him to accept her death, but when it seems that he could move on with his life, at least, something weird happen. Mysterious symbols starts appear around him all the time, and Joe sure that Emily is beyond all this, trying to contact him and to tell him something. He goes after the clues that the symbols left, which lead him to different places. His friends think he become nuts, but he is steady with his decision to find out what's behind the symbols. When the last symbol brings him to South America, he is about to be very very surprised
| Samantha Morton | Hugh Campbell |
| Susanna Thompson | Emily Darrow |
| Adam 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 |
| Marybeth Fisher | Eulogist |
| Kim Staunton | Intake Nurse |
| Kevin Costner | Joe Darrow |
| Tom Shadyac |
5.80 out of 10 (6426 votes)
Visitor Reviews
a supernatural tale without the thriller part
posted on 02 Aug 2009This was OK even though Kevin Costner was in it. I didn't like the beginning because past events and current time were mixed together. It was confusing for a moment. I did like the couple of scenes in the dark when Costner would hear a noise or see something spooky. And the scenes where he talks with the children about near-death experiences were good. One thing I didn't like was I could even figure out he needed to look at the photos, but he gets interrupted and doesn't look at them again till he figures out the clues.This is basically a ripoff of other supernatural thrillers that were much better. The plot does get slow at points and once again Costner does some bad acting.FINAL VERDICT: Nothing special. And the ending can be figured out before you actually see it. Only for those who really like ghost tales.
Still not sure
posted on 31 Jul 2009WARNING SPOILERS BELOWThis movie starts out good. I was drawn into it from minute 1. As it develops, all sorts of questions rise and you're not sure where the whole thing is going. That's good. You'll find yourself wondering about all that remains unclear. Untill the ending. Most of the signs used in the movie are explained well. The dragonfly, the waterfall, the rainbow, okay, that's cool. But there is still a piece of the puzzle missing. The wife was dead, no she was rescued by the tribesmen, no she was dead but left a baby. Why did she die? Taken by the river? WTF? I can't stand that! The fact she left a baby didn't touch me at all as it should.. Crap ending.What also struck me as somewhat hard to understand: I thought it was pretty obvious most indian tribes have become more civilized nowadays - look at the nice pickup they were driving. But when we are shown the village it looks like a flood swept all civilization away and the villagers are back to the stoneage again.And last but not least - the pilot says he speaks a little native and the natives speak a little Spanish. Okay fine. But in the end when the native woman shows the birthmark at the baby's leg, the pilot with his crappy knowledge of both native and English still manages to explain the word dragonfly. Say what? English is not my native language but I have come to use it more than often, but before I saw this movie I didn't have the slightest clue as to what a dragonfly was. I even had to look it up! Maybe not a so big a deal but I found it VERY hard to believe...
Pathetic and involuntarily hilarious
posted on 21 Jul 2009Kevin Costner is over and everybody knows it, but I don't understand why he does not stop instead to accept working in movies like "dragonfly". People don't go anymore to watch Kevin's movies but the sure flop of this movie will not be because of his presence. This movie sucks and it is stupid and very very very ugly. I don't know why in the last two years so many movies have been very ugly and we have become used to see anything but this is really to much. Maybe the producer needs loosing money to drop his taxes. Any case don't go to a theater and see this indefinable nastiness. It is impossible that you can like it. I don't know anything about the director and I'm curious to read what he made sooner. If you want go, try to take it hilariously.
Wonderful Film!
posted on 05 Jul 2009I thought this movie was wonderful! A haunting, feel good kind of movie. One that I would recommend and add to my collection. Don't try to analyze it, just sit back with an open mind and enjoy it's pure entertainment value...and who knows, it just might get you wondering........!!
PRETTY GOOD MOVIE - BUT THE ENDING IS THE SURPRISE
posted on 19 Jun 2009This movie was entertaining, but a little overdone at times. Kevin Costner did a good job as well as little used Kathy Bates and Ms. Hunt. I thought the ending was dramatic and a real surprise. It is only about an hour and a half and I think overall it was worth seeing.
A pretty good movie :)
posted on 05 Jun 2009Dragonfly was a great movie. Far from what I expected, but great. In the beginning of it, I figured it would be a scary movie, but as it went along, I got more and more into it. Some of the movie's situations were typical, I admit, but it was very good. At the end, I thought he was about to die to join her, but what really happened kind of made me teary. I'd give this movie an 8 out of 10, and would highly recommend it :)
bad
posted on 26 Apr 2009This movie just isnt any good. It is so boring at times its not even funny. The same old thing happens every time, he finds something mysterious, freaks out, talks to his neighbor, and it all starts over again until the last ten minutes, which are pretty entertaining, but trust me, it isnt worth all that happens before it. A reasonably good performance by kevin costner.
At the very least, an EIGHT here for Costner
posted on 22 Apr 2009I find it bemusing that this flick is rated below 6 by the several thousands who have "voted." Despite the fact that at my age, 86 and counting, I cannot hear, therefore must rely on closed captions and totally miss the music score as well, and my dimming visual capacity further delimits my perceptions and appreciations, I found this venture both adventurous AND trailblazing, as in the "psychic" realm. Who among us has NEVER 'experienced' a qualm or quivering at some point in his or her life? I mean the wonder at whether or no there lies something beyond our physical ken. And whereas the protagonist's seemingly incredible finding of his own little daughter in an Andean rainforest is both 'corny' and 'happy ending,' was it not an altogether LOVELY cinematic experience? It continues to be evident, to me at least, that the great bulk of the "public" out there continues to labor under the conventional "wisdoms" of the ethnocultural majority, which, to me, is "slavery" of the worst esthetic variety. Kevin Costner, take a bow here, along with the writers and producers.
Listening to the Voice of Death
posted on 21 Mar 2009***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Dragonfly was directed by Tom Shadyac in 2002. The film was mixed with science fiction, thriller, and drama. Dr. Joe Darrow (Kevin Costner) and wife Dr. Emily Darrow (Susanna Thompson) work at a well-known hospital in Chicago. While she specializes in pediatric oncology, he is the head chief medical doctor in the emergency room. Occassionaly, Emily takes trips to Africa to help men, women, and children who are unable to afford healthcare. At nearly nine months pregnant, she was needed by the people in Africa. Joe dissapproves of her going and insists she stay home in case she delivers the baby.In spite of how her husband feels, she heads to Africa without him. The weather turns for worst where she is located and the entire village is evacuated. In the midst of evacuation, the bus Dr. Emily and the people were on, rolls off the cliff and into the river below. A native village nearby attempts to rescue, but they were only able to free Dr. Darrow. Although there were unable to save her, the saved the unborn child.Joe tries his best to function as normal, but he does not take time to grieve his wife's death. He returns to work as if nothing has happened. Before his wife passed away, the promised one another to look after their patients if something were to happen to either one of them. One night, he falls asleep on the pediatric oncology floor. One of his wife's patients was being brought in by the medical staff unconscious. The staff was trying to revive him, and they were having no success. He heard the child call his name over and over. "Joe, Joe can't you hear me, Joe." Naturally, he followed the staff to confirm if what he was hearing was real. All the monitors on the child showed flat lines, no heart beat. Finally, the child responds to their treatment, and his heart begins beating.The following afternoon, he returns to the child and questions him. The child asked him if he was Emily's Joe and told him she sent him back to tell Joe something. All over the room were drawings of a curvy cross. No one knows the meaning. In another child's room, he saw the same drawing and still no one understands. When he arrives at home, his parrot goes into a rage. The parrot knocks out the light, and when Joe goes to the window, he sees a dragonfly flying. There is no light around, yet it still flies. His wife always had a passion for dragonflies. She had a birthmark on her back which reminded her of a dragonfly.Days pass by, and Joe still does not know what is taking over his life. His neighbor and long time friend, Mrs. Belmont (Kathy Bates), tries to bring him back into reality and has no success. The breaking point in his life occurs at the hospital. He is alone with a clinically dead patient awaiting for a brain transplant, and he believes his wife spoke through the patient. Joe tries to stop the surgical procedure, and security is called to arrest him. Mrs. Belmont bails him out of jail on special conditions. He decides to sell the home and go on vacation. While packing away his wife's belongings, the light in the room burns out. When he returns, all the belongings packed away were back in its original place. He believes he is losing his grip on life, and in despiration he pleas for help.He takes trip to the African village were his wife spent her last days. Somehow, he believes if he could find out where the accident took place, he might get closure. Joe finds the accident location and jumps into the river where the bus remained. He enters the bus, and the buse moves further down the river. Water is building higher and higher until it reaches the top. Then, a bright light appears, and his wife is visible. She reaches her hand out, and the connect. The events of her final hours flash before him. He is rescued out of the bus, and at that moment closure began.When he returns back to the village, a woman walks up to him and begins speaking in an unknown language to him. The gentleman which brought him to the village translates. She leads him into one of the huts, and inside is an infant unclothed. The child his wife was caring for survived the accident. Immediately tears began to flow from his eyes. The woman shows him a birthmark on the child. It is in the shape of a dragonfly on the inside of her lower leg. As he embraced the infant, he began to think of the memories of his wife.Although the events of this movie have been modified, the file is fact based on a true life experience. He returns back to the U.S. to rebuild a life for he and his child. This film taught me several things: love, life, and trust. Joe loved his wife with all is heart. He lived for her. He trusted her. By valuing in their beliefs and trusting in their faith, he was able to listen to her voice in death.
Surprisingly enjoyable supernatural tale.
posted on 23 Feb 2009Given that films are generally produced as an entertainment medium, and are not produced for the arty fraternity amongst us, I found this film an entertaining ride with a surprise ending. Kevin costner has never been my favourite actor, but credit where it is due he has produced some good work over the years and this film was for me, one of his better efforts and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.****** POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD ******Ok, the wife going off an a trip to the jungle whilst six months pregnant is unlikely, but hey.....people do stranger things in life ? don't they ? it is the viewers imagination that this film is aimed at, and those viewers that don't have one will struggle to appreciate this film. I interpreted this movie to be the living part of the sixth sense and from that point of view, I thought it was well carried out. If I were to examine every little detail of the film I could no doubt (as other reviewers have done) find things that don't quite add up. But I won't do that, because I could do it with every other film that has been made with the same result.Summary. Very good film and well worth a look. 7/10
Towering Costner performance in a small film.
posted on 19 Feb 2009I thought Sixth Sense was a predictable TV movie with a boring hero out of his depth but Dragonfly was a more enjoyable entertainment . The film is directed rather blandly and yes, there are some eggy moments from the usually fail safe Joe Morton and Kathy Bates but Costner is believable and painfully moving throughout and the ending was a complete surprise. And my partner leapt up in the air screaming 3 times.... Wow! 7 out of 10.
Moving
posted on 03 Feb 2009I recently brought Dragonfly (mainly because i have a crush on Kevin Costner) i found the movie good in the way that its slightly different to other movies out there, and that it doesn't go over the top with the haunting of his wife. I thought that the movie puts a nice thought into your head that this may not just be it, there may be more to life than what we think, and that a love as strong as "Emily" and "Joe" can go on even after death. Costner was good and he made u feel the loss he feels for Emily. All in all a good movie.
Intriguing. Good movie, good acting, good directing.
posted on 24 Jan 2009If you are into car chases, profanity, nudity, gratuitous sex, loud music, and violence, then you should skip this picture. It has none of that. It does, however, like 'A Beautiful Mind', feature real people with real dialogue. You can actually hear and discern what the actors are saying, a rare thing these days. And the plot is a good one, very thought-provoking. Part of it was filmed on the beautiful island of Kauai, and there are pictures, several, of Dr. Emily Darrow sitting in front of Wailua Falls, the same waterfall that was used in the opening scene of the TV series Fantasy Island. If you like good, believable, movies that don't insult your intelligence, go and see this one.
A successful attempt at creating a love-struck dramatic thriller, but Dragonfly goes a little too far with the supernatural element at some points.
posted on 02 Jan 2009Dragonfly is the story of Joe Darrow (Kevin Costner) who suddenly loses his wife, and his reaction is to work even harder at the hospital, `to prevent anyone else from joining her.' While working virtually nonstop at the hospital, strange things begin to happen with some of the kids who have near death experiences, particularly the ones who were previously looked after by Emily (Susanna Thompson), Joe's wife. This is where the first of the supernatural clichés comes in, as we see a kid flat-lining who is declared dead, only to jerk his head up and look straight at Joe with bulging eyes for a split second, and then drop his head back to the pillow. Nice little spooky moment, but we've seen it about a thousand times before. This kid and another kid begin to tell Joe about their encounters with Emily in their near death experiences, leading him to believe that she is stuck in limbo and desperately trying to reach him. (spoilers) There are plenty of cheesy moments in the movie, but as a whole it is an interesting and entertaining supernatural love story. The ending is a complete cop-out, despite being mildly satisfying. It's just too much that his wife survived the crash, made it to the village downriver, and won the hearts of the tribe there (the one that `hates outsiders') to the point where they delivered her baby and kept her in a hut (after Emily's death) like it was delivered straight from the gods. Kept it there, that is, until Joe arrived to pick her up. I will admit that I loved seeing Joe united with his daughter, but there comes a point when things are happening in the movie just a little too conveniently. For the sake of brevity, I won't go into all such instances, but as another example, let's not overlook the fact that Joe's foot was so jammed on that bus that he drowned, and then when he was pulled from the bus it drifted right out like it had never been stuck at all. I have already complained about the supernatural element of the movie, but not because I don't think that it was creative or that I don't think it was a good addition to the story. On the contrary, thinking back on it after the movie was over, I thought that the supernatural element was one of the most interesting parts of the movie, although I stand by my opinion that it just became goofy at some points. I loved the whole mystery surrounding the crucifixes made out of jell-o, especially when they kept turning up in increasingly strange places and in strange ways, I liked the way that dragonflies kept turning up in unusual places, and I especially liked the scene where the paper-weight finds its way out of the box and back onto the counter, and all of Joe's clothes find their way out of his suitcase and right back into the closet. On the one hand, things like this indicate a more cheesy supernatural thriller (a lot of this is stuff that you would expect to see in bad horror movies). For example, when Joe is selling his house, why does he feel the need to do all of his packing in the middle of the night and in total darkness except for one small bedside lamp? But on the other hand, there are usually some counterarguments against things like this. Maybe he left all the lights off (especially after he had run out of the house, at which point everyone in the audience is probably wishing that he would just go inside and turn on the lights – at least ONE light) because he was just as desperate to hear from Emily as she supposedly was to contact him. The whole idea of having these kids draw these wiggly crucifixes is one of the main things that keeps your attention captivated throughout the film, and I liked that it turned out to be a way for Emily to tell Joe where she lived the last days of her life, as well as where their daughter was.I was also glad that the movie didn't go the way of Joe making the attempt to have a near-death experience himself so he could see Emily in an experience of his own. I was starting to get afraid that I was about to see a sequel to Flatliners. There were some genuinely scary moments in Dragonfly, such as the scene when Joe hears Big Bird, the talking parrot that never talks to him, calling out `Honey, I'm home,' in the middle of the night. This scene involves Joe walking down a long, dark hallway toward a lightly swaying door with a bright light behind it (probably one of the most tired clichés in the genre), but hearing the bird saying that was just like Emily was speaking through it. I was impressed. The light behind the door is followed by the standard scare of an animal shrieking and suddenly interrupting the stone silence (this is usually done with a cat, so at least they changed SOMEthing), but there were definitely some good scares in this scene.I've heard some complaints about the casting in this film, but I can't say that I understand why someone would complain. Kevin Costner, in particular, is a veteran of this exact type of role, and I admit that I have an almost immutable liking for him even if he's in a bad film. Susanna Thompson portrays Emily wonderfully, for the little amount of time that she's in the film, and the rest of the cast adds very nicely to the film, creating a realistic atmosphere, particularly in the hospital setting. Dragonfly has the unfortunate quality of being a film that delivers several new ideas and situations, but these are grouped along with a line of clichés and routine situations. This is not the most memorable film, but it definitely has its shining moments.
good movie with a great ending
posted on 19 Dec 2008i loved the ending of this movie. the only thing i found disappointing was the fact that Jacob Smith(played Ben)only had 3 scenes and 2 of them he didn't talk in. The only reason i wanted to watch the movie was because i love Jacob Smith and wanted to see all the movies he was in so i think he should have had more of a part. but otherwise it was a great movie and i highly recommend seeing it if you have not. i liked how they made the movie realistic and supernatural at the same time and the story like was pretty beleivable i think.
Good thoughts
posted on 13 Dec 2008If someone suggests you watch it, WATCH IT! If someone doesn't suggest you watch it, WATCH IT!!!MOST WONDERFUL!!! I begged my daughter to watch it....she was (too busy) her loss!...Mine too since now I'll have to buy it for her to make sure she takes the time to watch it! Ok, so the movie was a bit slow paced, I think they were trying to give you a build up to send you in the wrong direction. So KC didn't show a lot of emotion, sometimes people just can't let it go. It takes some people a long time to come to grips with the reality of losing a loved one. I think he played it well....he didn't know how to move on or whether to. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out (whodunit) but I was totally floored at the ending! [SPOILER ALERT...IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET! DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STOP HERE!.....people keep on about, "they hardly mentioned the baby...just a time or two"...well, maybe there was a good reason for that...it may have helped you figure out the end had they kept it on our minds! I believe they wanted us to believe right up to the end that she was alive (but perhaps in that coma they talked about).]
When strange things happens...
posted on 16 Oct 2008The story follows "THE SIXTH SENSE" but without reaching such a success. Sometimes the ghost is simply too ridiculous for example when the doctor´s dead wife makes an appearance. But the scenes with the coma children I found very scary and convincing. I have a little difficult to critic this film but I think that´s Hollywood. I liked especially the last third of the movie and I was surprised that there was anyway a little happy end. If you liked this one don´t miss "RANDOM HEARTS". I think Dragonfly it´s an average movie and that´s why I give only 6/10.
Muddled
posted on 26 Sep 2008Another stab at a variant on SIXTH SENSE, and not a particularly good one. It is about as good as MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, which is not saying much. It is better than WHAT LIES BENEATH, but that's not saying much either. Costner's big revelation -- what the film is all about -- comes much too late in the picture.
They selled it as a thriller
posted on 18 Aug 2009- but as a thriller is mediocre. Looking at the cover one expects suspense, spine-chilling. My impression was that this ingredient was put by force in a potentially good movie about feelings/love after death/NDE (near death experience) because they wanted to sell it as a thriller. The disappointment of many people is so justified.Nevertheless I found this movie well written. My congratulations to David Seltzer, Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson. They succeeded to paint a story from different points of view, talking about NDE in a colorful but neat and profound Way. I assume that they they are smart enough to understand that the thriller element is a crap. They were probably ordered to fit it inside Tom Shadyak -the director - was quite accurate but sometimes I found his visual choices weak.Kevin Costner is an icon. It's not really important if he can or he can't act.To the producers - if they are the ones who forced the thriller element - goes a 5. Great movies need a little bit of courage. In all the movies they produced there is little courage. The results are not so exciting, even with the incomes (apart for some exceptions like Ace Ventura).Anyway I give this movie a 7. Being interested in NDE, I enjoyed it.