How many percent of the earth is populated by writers? And does the same ratio count for the figments of imagination that inhabit our little screen? How many writers use their work to conquer their demons, usually to get rid of the grenade fragments left over from growing up in a dysfunctional family? Michael Waechter just finished his latest novel; serious literature. A merciless word storm, written in pure gall, a not to be misunderstood way of slaying his demon namely his terror-prone father. Previously only occupying himself with sugar sweet love tales, this indicates a radical change in Michael's authorial style as well as in his way of dealing with his troubled existence.

This is where the characters' journeys start, for our protagonist it's a search for a way of forgiving his father, his path is ridden with the verbalizing of a ton of words unsaid too long and energetic arguments, as the audience gets sucked in further and further the - in the beginning only skin-deep - dramatic tension mounts. The picture uses it's runtime skilfully, the development of the 'original' characters occupies nearly all scenes, once in a while the director permits us a small pause to catch our breath and reflect upon what just went on. The new generation (children Christopher and Leslie) clearly are being presented to us as a reincarnation of Michael and his young ante Jane, of who it's fair to say they grew up close enough to almost be brother and sister - the unmistakable physical resemblance alone says enough. The only significant difference is the nature of fathers, they have the luck of having a loving, gentler father who unfortunately is away a lot on business, where as Michael's father is the hard, domineering type, the kind of father who maybe loves his family a little too much to be healthy for him, or his family for that matter.

Herein eventually lies the human quality of the character and the redemption. Hereby we can wholeheartedly accept - even though it appeared not to be true for a very long time - Michael forgiving his father, which culminates in a catharsis-classic: the burning of his newborn baby book in the fireplace, and we can even rejoice in Michael regaining personal freedom.

Now, for those who are not convinced the father deserves being forgiven, that's not really the core of it all. The point is this: even deeply rooted hate, however justified, has to be overcome in order to be happy. Hate is so powerful it can and will easily consume the one who holds the grudge and it often destroy families. In my opinion the whole film is centered around Christopher, in order to save the child's still pure soul, Michael is forced to take that last, hard step towards full maturity.

A simple movie? Maybe. Simplistic? Absolutely not. Above everything else, this movie is oh so full of truth and genuine emotion.

Charles Taylor (Willem Dafoe) is a domineering abusive father to Michael and constantly fighting with his wife Lisa (Julia Roberts). As an adult, Michael (Ryan Reynolds) is a successful romance novel writer. He's coming home to see his mother graduate with his sister Ryne (Shannon Lucio). He's still bitter at his ex-wife Kelly Hanson (Carrie-Anne Moss). Lisa has a younger sister Jane (Hayden Panettiere/Emily Watson). As Charles and Lisa drive to her graduation from college, they get into an accident killing Lisa. This movie flashes back a lot to Michael as a young boy when Jane comes to live with them.

The flashbacks are handled poorly. There are too many of them and it's a confusing mess to get a handle on who's who in all of this. It doesn't help that Emily Watson is nothing like Hayden Panettiere. I don't mean their looks. They don't have the same personality. It needs to settle down on all the main characters before they do extensive flashbacks. It all ends up in a ball of chaos.

The good part is Willem Dafoe. He has the power of presence. He sells his domineering personality. Ryan Reynolds holds his own. There are some good actors in this movie. There is a compelling dysfunctional family drama, but writer/director Dennis Lee can't quite put it all together. With the caliber of actors, this should have made a much better movie.

Fireflies in The Garden was panned by basically everyone. The dysfunctional family story took three years to be released on DVD which is astounding considering the enormous strength of this cast. Many reviewers all say the same thing that movies like this are a dime a dozen and that might be true. That doesn't this cast and this film any less captivating. Perhaps part of the issue that many see in this movie is that it is in no way packaged in a neat little box with sunshine and rainbows. This is a very dark drama about a very messed up family and there isn't a happily ever after for them. If you can handle a dark drama then you will be rewarded with some terrific performances. Ryan Reynolds shines in his role as the grown up son who has many emotional problems because of a verbally abusive father. That father is played with excellent force by Willem Dafoe. Obviously playing a villain type character is not new for Dafoe but his character is so pathetic, with so much depth, you will just despise him and beg for his redemption much like his family does. Emily Watson is sort of ho-hum compared to the rest of the cast. Once you've accepted that Hayden Panettiere somehow grew up to look like Emily Watson...she also loses all her passion for the role. Panettiere is much better as the younger Jane in the movie. Julia Roberts is good in her role though she isn't used all that much and sort of takes a more ceremonious role in the movie. People are always clamouring for Hollywood to do something unique and I give a lot of credit to first time writer and director Dennis Lee for not making everything neat and tidy. Sometimes you can be in the mood for a dark drama and some solid performances makes this one captivating. Ignore the harsh reviews and give it a chance! 8/10