Sadie Leggett (Billie D. Merritt) is the absolute highlight of writer/director Grayson Berry's Freestyle Digital Media feature Where the Fireflies Dance, a 70-minute good-spirited flick centered around a talented but quietly grieving school teacher and artist whose detour through her hometown during a gounded flight leads to a reconnection with her high school sweeetheart, Jack (Brady McInnes). For the most part, you pretty much know where Where the Fireflies Dance is going to go from here. 

Where the Fireflies Dance is one of those difficult to review films, warm and welcoming enough to please most moviegoers yet challenged enough that it becomes one of those films that critics and audiences are destined to disagree on because they're looking through different lenses. Through a critical lens, I struggled with Where the Fireflies Dance, but seen through the lens of your average moviegoer just clicking around looking for a late Saturday night flick this is a wholesome and good-hearted flick that should at least modestly please most who watch it. 

I cringed early and often, but Billie D. Merritt drew me in and refused to let me go throughout the film's running time. Where the Fireflies Dance really starts to find its cinematic voice in its final 20 minutes or so. Ted Ramasola's lensing for the film amplifies Berry's storytelling and the film's overall good heart. There's an intimacy to the storytelling, visually and narratively, that is rare amongst low-budget indies but it works well. 

The rest of the ensemble is hit-and-miss, though especially early on I felt those misses hard due to the film's intentionally casual pacing and supporting characters that don't quite get the development they deserve. I don't say this often, but I can't help but wish we'd had a good 15 more minutes or so to really get to know these folks. Berry's storytelling is promising enough; it just needed a little more room to breathe. 

Again, Where the Fireflies Dance is one of those difficult to review films. While a 2-star review may seem like a negative review, Where the Fireflies Dance is a solid enough mid-range romancer that should find its audience with a warm spirit that will likely connect with the moviegoer looking for a little bit of love on a late night Saturday night. For Billie D. Merritt's performance alone, this may very well be a flick worth taking a chance on even if I can't quite convince myself to give it a full-on thumbs-up. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic