Fireflies in the Garden
FSI | Release Date: October 14, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
8
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 13, 2011
Instead of concealing it, I'll just come out and say that I find it difficult to be enthusiastic about this well-acted and gracefully directed movie, but for reasons that might be called philosophical. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubAlison WillmoreOct 12, 2011
An ending that suggests reconciliation and forgiveness isn't just unearned, it's bewildering, given the wretched behavior we've seen; it implies that the entire story was filtered through some unidentified unreliable narrator who wanted to take the higher ground while still harboring a serious grudge. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumOct 19, 2011
The resentments acted out at the dining table by the rest of this miserable family - gathered for a graduation celebration that turns into a wake - are so oppressive that Eugene O'Neill might ask, ''Too much?'' Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 12, 2011
The screenplay shows signs of being inspired by personal memories that still hurt and are still piling up in Michael's mind. Fair enough, but the film doesn't sort this out clearly, and we experience vignettes in search of a story arc. Read full review
40
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 13, 2011
Mr. Lee gathers together a lifetime of hurt without conveying that there's something personal at stake. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyOct 13, 2011
There's a strange sort of diffidence that seems to inhabit Dafoe and Roberts' performances, and the disconnect between the two Janes is simply insurmountable. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineRichard MoweOct 10, 2011
As tales of troubled families go, it may have aspirations to be like "Ordinary People," but it falls way short. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttOct 10, 2011
Dennis Lee comes up empty. Kids, parents, siblings, an aunt and an estranged wife all bicker and yell, but the noise cancels itself out. The movie is one long argument, tiresome and repetitive, that produces more heat than light. Read full review
40
VarietyAlissa SimonOct 10, 2011
Clumsy melodrama, which looks and sounds no better than an average made-for-cabler. Read full review
25
New York PostLou LumenickOct 14, 2011
A dispiriting rehash of dysfunctional family clichés that seems to last longer than Thanksgiving Day dinner. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineDiego SemereneOct 12, 2011
The actors are left to go through the motions of a sterile script that director Dennis Lee tries to bring to life not through, for example, Watson's brilliant capacity for facial nuance, but through canned artifice. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 13, 2011
There are some moments of blessed levity to the otherwise mordant melodramatics...That's not enough to sustain interest in the Taylors and their toxic emotional foibles, however. Read full review
20
Time OutDavid FearOct 11, 2011
A completely incoherent mess. Read full review
20
Village VoiceNick SchagerOct 11, 2011
Despite an A-list roster, the performances are universally one-note, a fact largely attributable to a script overflowing with blunt dialogue and heavy-handed symbolism. Read full review
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34 Critic Reviews

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