Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageDragonfly (2002)
Director: Tom Shadyac
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Part supernatural thriller, part New Age spiritual drama, this picture from the director of Patch Adams can't decide what it wants to be. Costner looks glum as bereaved husband Dr Joe Darrow. His saintly wife Emily was killed in an accident while working for the Red Cross in Venezuela, and to the alarm of friends and colleagues, Joe grows convinced she's trying to contact him from the beyond. The title refers to an insect-shaped birthmark on Emily's shoulder (pointedly shown in flashback) and to her knick-knacks and dragonfly paraphernalia, which spookily begin to hurl themselves off shelves. Emily was, we're told, a kindly, loving soul, but you wouldn't know it from her attempts to contact Joe from the spirit world. Shadyac resorts to the vernacular of the horror genre to create suspense, leading to an unholy blend of Ghost's mawkish pan-dimensional romance and Exorcist-style shock tactics. The 'surprise' ending is as predictable as it is a long time coming.Author: WI
Cast & crew
Director: Tom Shadyac
Producer: Mark Johnson, Tom Shadyac, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber
Cast: Kevin Costner, Joe Morton, Ron Rifkin, Linda Hunt, Susanna Thompson, Jacob Vargas, Kathy Bates, Robert Bailey Jr full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 104 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now