27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable Film... worth watching, February 28, 2002
By A Customer
Ok..lets get this out right up front...Dragonfly is not comparable to The Sixth Sense... with that said I found it to be a well crafted movie, that while not suspenseful is still good storytelling. It is more of a love story than a ghost story and the ending is one of the best in a recent film. Kevin Costner is unfairly lambasted by critics, and while his choice in movies can be questioned, his acting skills remain sharp. He was believable in his part as the grief striken doctor. Ignore the critical bashing this movie has been getting, it is an enjoyable, if somewhat under developed film.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slowing moving but genuinely spooky, December 27, 2004
Kevin Costnor finally in a movie that shows you that he can act, a reminder of the days when he did films like "Dances with Wolves" and "The Bodyguard".
Dragonfly is like neither of the above, some people have compared it with "The Sixth Sense" and found it wanting, however that is a little unfair as this is not a movie about ghosts as such, rather it is about belief, life after death and the power of love.
When his wife is killed in a freak accident in South America, Dr. Joe Darrow is left only with memories for her body was not recovered from the wreckage of the bus that claimed her life and that of her fellow Red Cross workers.
But Joe finds that he is getting signs, he is seeing things in the house he once shared with his wife not to mention the children who have had near death experiences talk about his wife Emily and a rainbow, along with an odd little wavery cross they keep drawing when they come back to the land of the living.
Joe thinks he is going mad, his friends think he is going mad but eventually Joe finds himself following what he soon realises are clues to a puzzle that he must unravel if he is ever to have peace of mind.
A visit to a remote village in South America reveals the truth about Emily's death and the surprising legacy she left behind.
An excellent cast with Kath Bates in a tough but soft centred cookie role as Dr Darrow's friend Mrs Belmont and a short but sweet showing of the brilliant and often understated actress Linda Hunt as the nun Sister Madeline who makes Dr Darrow realise that there is more to life and death than heaven and earth can ever explain.
There are no spectacular special effects in this film though there are some genuinely spooky moments which will make you jump and though the ending is a little bit syrupy for my taste it doesn't make the film any less watchable.
Not a film I would have gone to the movies to see but one I enjoyed watching on DVD.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dragonfly delves into the ultimate mystery of life and death, March 16, 2002
The death of Dr. Joe Darrow's (Kevin Costner) pregnant wife Emily brings him face to face with perhaps the most troubling existential question of all time. Is there a life after death? Was the morose Macbeth right to describe life as nothing more than "a tale, told by on idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing?" Emily (Susanna Thompson) was also a doctor and devoted much of her efforts to saving the poverty stricken people of the destitute areas of the world. She dies in a mud slide that pushes her bus over a waterfall. Joe is an avowed atheist convinced that Emily's personality has been utterly extinguished. He will mourn her passing, but life must go on.
A friend of the family Miriam (Kathy Bates) tries to console Joe and help him to adjust to the reality of Emily's death. Joe, however, is confronted with unexplained occurrence which hint that Emily is reaching out to him from her unknown grave. A young boy Ben who suffers from a severe heart aliment undergoes countless alleged near death experiences. Ben informs Joe that Emily has a message for him. Should Joe take the youngster seriously? Might not after death experiences merely be the tricks the brain plays on a human being as they are slipping away from this world? Joe repeatedly comes across a figure appearing to be a dragonfly. What does it mean? Does it have any real significance, or is it added proof that Joe might be going off the deep end? Joe even seeks out Sister Madeline (Linda Hunt) who has studied this most unconventional academic subject matter. Sister Madeline shares her insights that seemingly contradict official Catholic teaching. Nonetheless, they sound somewhat plausible and offer Joe further hope that Emily still exists in some sort of fashion.
We travel with Joe to an unnamed Central American country. Will he unravel the meaning behind the mysterious dragonfly looking symbol? Is Emily attempting to lead Joe to a greater truth? Is the possibility of life after death empirically provable? Are we able to somehow communicate with those who have left this vale of tears? Do the indigenous natives possess profound insights alien to our Western philosophical traditions? Director Tom Shadyac does fairly well in putting together a good story that probes the awkward and uneasy topic of death. I think it's worth seeing. It doesn't quite earn a five star recommendation, but it deserves a very strong four.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
