Fireflies in the Garden

Michael (Ryan Reynolds) is an estranged son who returns home as an adult to find that his mother (Julia Roberts) has just died in a car crash. Interchanging between the present day and 20 years ago, director Dennis Lee's star-studded debut tells the story of a dysfunctional family and their reunion.
 
Tom Huddleston, Time Out: Dennis Lee's script... ticks off every cliché in the family saga playbook: overbearing dad, moody teen, cute next-generation kiddies, clandestine affairs, alcoholism and resentment. It's not a bad film - Lee directs with subtle grace and the cast is predictably strong - but it's saddled with too many characters, not enough drama and a strong sense of overfamiliarity. (Verdict: two stars out of six)

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: Dysfunctional families in dramatic literature date back to Oedipus Rex, so if you're going to take that route, you'd better have something new to say. In his film, 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. The wonder is that the first-time writer-director rounded up a cast that includes Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Carrie-Anne Moss and Julia Roberts. ·