Willem Dafoe: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Charles Taylor - Fireflies In The Garden (2008)

Sometimes the worst performance of an actor is one which sticks out like a sore thumb, either ruining a good film or making a bad one worse. Considering Dafoe's penchant for memorable, sometimes OTT characterisation, you'd think his worst performance would be in a role where he completely misjudged how to play a character. In fact, the worst performance of Dafoe's career is one where he simply doesn't seem to be trying, a performance so unmemorable that it leads us to forget how charismatic he can be. I give you Fireflies in the Garden. Fireflies in the Garden is written and directed by Dennis Lee, inspired by the poem of the same name by Robert Frost. It tells the story of the Taylor family, focussing on the estranged relationship between father Charles (Defoe) and son Michael (Ryan Reynolds with bad facial hair). After Michael's mum Lisa (Julia Roberts) dies in a car accident caused by Charles, Michael arranges the funeral and begins to discover more details about his family, which eventually leads the two men to reconcile. Fireflies in the Garden is a desperately tedious melodrama which squanders most if not all of its stellar cast. While the material isn't particularly distinctive or compelling, Dafoe's lack of believability is the main factor that brings things grinding to a halt. All of his emotional outbursts feel forced and over-rehearsed, and in the quieter moments you never get the sense that he cares about the character he is playing. Rather than making the most of a role, he gives the likes of Reynolds nothing to work with, resulting in a languid pudding of a film with no energy or genuine heart. --- Disagree with my choices? Drop me a comment below or visit Mumby at the Movies for more reviews.