Dragonfly (2002)

** ½ out of ****

I have to come out and admit it – I am a Kevin Costner fan. Only rarely has he made a movie I didn't like, and some (“Bull Durham”, “Dances With Wolves”, “For Love of the Game” and “Mr. Brooks”) I have actively loved. There is something about his performances that always leaves you rooting for him, even when he is the bad guy. So I guess it's no surprise that, even though the critical reception to “Dragonfly” was not good, I still think it was an enjoyable movie and worth recommending.

Costner is Joe Darrow, a doctor who has recently lost his wife to a bus accident in a Venezuelan rainforest, where she had traveled to render medical aid to the local natives. Darrow is stricken, but would rather bury his grief by working incessantly to keep from having to deal with it. After making some questionable calls at the hospital, he is forced to take some time off by the hospital administrator. It is then that some strange things start to occur.

Darrow discovers that some children at the hospital (his deceased wife had been the pediatric oncologist there) that have had near-death experiences claim to have seen her during their time while “flat-lined”. Items he associates with her begin to make strange appearances at his house, and a pet parrot that only spoke to her begins to speak at random times, as if believing she were present.

The film deals very little with the “is she really trying to reach him from beyond the grave” issue, and basically treats it as axiomatic. The mystery is in what she is trying to tell him. The children that claimed to have seen her all draw the same strange symbol to show him, a criss-cross of two wavy lines. He has no idea what it means, but knows that this is the key to discovering her message for him. As his desire to figure this out becomes more and more obsessive, he seems crazier and crazier to everyone in his life to the point where he knows he is on his own.

The most satisfying aspect of the entire film is the payoff – after we follow Joe through his discoveries and tribulations, the film offers a very suitable finish. Costner plays the part of the borderline insane doctor extremely well, and some nice supporting performances (particularly Kathy Bates as a neighbour and Jacob Vargas as a Venezuelan guide) round it out. There is nothing ground-breaking in this movie, but it is enjoyable just the same and worth catching on late night TV when it pops up.