Dragonfly

A well-intentioned misfire, Dragonfly follows Kevin Costner’s Joe Darrow as he becomes increasingly convinced that his dead wife (Susanna Thompson’s Emily) is attempting to reach him from beyond the grave – with the narrative detailing Joe’s ongoing efforts at proving (or disproving) his growing belief in the afterlife. Filmmaker Tom Shadyac admittedly does an effective job of initially luring the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings, as Dragonfly boasts a compelling opening stretch focused on Emily’s disappearance/death and Joe’s ineffective attempts at moving on with his life. The film grows less and less interesting as it moves into its sluggish midsection, however, with the hands-off feel compounded by an emphasis on Joe’s uninvolving and frequently silly investigation into the aforementioned spooky happenings (ie it’s all just so corny). Costner’s exceedingly earnest performance doesn’t really alleviate the pervasively underwhelming vibe, nor does the inclusion of a third act that couldn’t possibly be less compelling or satisfying (or, as Shadyac is clearly striving for, emotionally resonant) – which confirms Dragonfly‘s place as a seriously tedious and eye-rollingly heavy-handed trainwreck.

*1/2 out of ****