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 DRAGONFLY
After the tragic death of Dr Joe Darrow's wife a child, Megan, undergoes a near-death experience and claims to have seen his wife on the other side, he becomes convinced that his wife is trying to contact him.
Reviw by David Bruce |
(2002)
This page was created on February 18, 2002
This page was last updated on
May 23, 2005
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 Directed by Tom Shadyac
Screenplay by David Seltzer, Brandon Camp & Mike Thompson
Story by Brandon Camp & Mike Thompson
Kevin Costner .... Dr. Joe Darrow
Susanna Thompson .... wife
Kathy Bates .... next-door neighbor
Alison Llohman .... Megan
Kathryn Erbe
Meg Thalken .... Doctor
Moné Walton .... Paramedic
Samantha Smith .... Waitress
Joseph Will .... Seth Kimball
Robert Bailey Jr.
Casey Biggs
Paul Terrell Clayton .... Doctor
Matt Craven .... Erich
Brian J. Davis .... Michael
Paul Gutrecht .... Simon
Maz Jobrani .... Paramedic
Jimmy Leeward .... Cessna airplane pilot
Joe Morton
Ron Rifkin
Jay Thomas
Andy Umberger .... Dr. #1
Produced by
Michael Bostick .... executive producer
James D. Brubaker .... executive producer
Gary Barber .... producer
Tom Shadyac .... producer
Roger Birnbaum .... producer
Mark Johnson .... producer
Arlene Kehela .... associate producer
Janet L. Wattles .... associate producer
Original music by John Debney
Cinematography by Dean Semler
Film Editing by Don Zimmerman
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for thematic material and mild sensuality.
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG |
TRAILERS |
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When someone you love dies... are they gone forever? |
 SYNOPSIS:
After the tragic death of his wife, Dr Joe Darrow starts working as a grief counselor for terminally ill children -in the very place his wife used to work. When a child, Megan, undergoes a near-death experience and claims to have seen his wife on the other side, he becomes convinced that she's trying to contact him from the next world, and goes to dangerous extremes to validate his belief. |
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REVIEW
By David Bruce |
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 THE CERTAINTY OF DEATH
The story begins with Dr. Joe Darrow receiving his last call from his wife, who is away on a humanitarian mission deep in the jungles of Latin America. She says she is loading children into a bus. It's raining and the driving conditions are not good. Somehow Dr. Joe Darrow senses that something is not right. The last scene in which we see Mrs. Darrow is as she is looking out of the bus window. Rain streams down the bus window in tear-like fashion. She senses doom, too. As she and the children venture down the treacherous mountain path, they are caught in a sudden and deadly mudslide sending them headlong into the roaring river rapids below. They breathe their last. |
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HARD EMOTIONAL ISSUES
Because of the closeness Joe had with his wife, her death is hard to take. It impacts his whole life, right down to his very soul. He begins to wonder if there is an afterlife? Does she still exist, somehow? |
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SIGNS AND WONDER
Joe begins to experience various signs that cause him to think that there is a possibility that his wife is trying to contact him. His wife had a birthmark on her shoulder that resembled a dragonfly. Suddenly he sees dragonflies everywhere. Are these coincidences -that can be easily reasoned away? Or, are they signs from the other side? Perhaps Joe's emotions are playing tricks on him? |
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BELIEF, YET SCEPTICAL
The film introduces us to two individuals that personify Joe's inner struggle: A NUN, who, of course, affirms belief in the mystical, and THE NEIGHBOR, who represents a "rational-logical" non-spiritual approach. |
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 CHILDREN BEAR MESSAGES
Joe begins visiting hospitalized children with cancer who have had near-death experiences. They draw funny-shaped crucifixes and tell Joe that they have messages from his wife. |
 THE INNER BATTLE IS UNBEARABLE
Joe experiences the clash between the "logical-rational" worldview and his new spiritual experiences. The "inner-spirit-being and the natural-mind" go to war in Joe, driving him nearly mad. |
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TO BE CONTINUED |
CLICK HERE FOR REAL VIDEO REVIEW
Review by David Bruce |
BULLETIN BOARD (Rules)
Post your comments -click here.
LOVE NEVER DIES
Subject: Dragonfly
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002
From: Lelia
I was truly surprised at how deep, and how beautiful, "Dragonfly" was. Dr. Joe Darrow starts the movie fully convinced that death is the end... there is nothing more. In fact, he tells that to a young woman who has attempted suicide.
Joe Darrow at the beginning of "Dragonfly" is not exactly a nice man. He has been wounded spiritually and emotionally by his wife's death, partly (in my opinion) due to his guilt over not having traveled to Venezuela with her. One fact that seems almost lost in the plot is that Dr. Emily Darrow was about 7 months pregnant at the time of her death.
Then, inexplicably, one of her pediatric oncology patients tells "Emily's Joe" that he has seen her "in the rainbow," and that she wants to tell Joe something. Joe's world is utterly shaken. As the movie progresses, we see Joe move from anger, to fear, to belief and determination to find out what Emily needs to tell him. By the end of the movie, Joe is made new, gone from hopelessness back to hope. As a nun (who has interviewed many near-death kids) tells him, "Love never dies." |
OFFICIAL SITE
Dragonfly © 2001 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. |
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