Vero icon Brenda Blethyn’s film Dragonfly has landed a new streaming home in the UK – and it’s available to watch for free!
The film from writer/director Paul Andrew Williams, which was released in cinemas back in November and on digital platforms in February, is now available to stream for free on ITVX on our shores.
The movie stars Blethyn as Elsie, an 80-something-year-old whose 35-year-old neighbour Colleen (Andrea Riseborough) steps in to care for her after witnessing her neglect by carers.
However, their relationship soon devolves amid interference from Elsie’s son, who’s instantly suspicious of Colleen’s motives – in part due to his pre-existing biases.
Speaking about how it’s the movie’s exploration of the character’s judgements that initially drew her to the project, Blethyn previously told Radio Times: “What I loved about the script as well is that you can’t help but make judgments about all the different people in the film, and then question your own judgment.”
She continued: “I think everyone has a redeeming quality – or you could blame all of them for whatever reason – and it’s just circumstance. The way at the end, where it kind of turns – [there’s] this kind of shock coming from something so every day, so normal. I thought [it] was brilliant.
The film received mixed reviews upon its release, with Radio Times awarding it 4 stars and calling it “a bleak but captivating study of loneliness and social care set in contemporary Britain”.
Critic James Mottram added: “Blethyn arguably hasn’t had a role this good since Mike Leigh’s 1995 Cannes-winning Secrets & Lies, although any comparisons to Leigh should be dismissed. Williams’s approach has sharper teeth than Leigh’s domestic portraits, as good as they are.”
He continued: “Riseborough, meanwhile, is at her chameleonic best here. It’s remarkable that two decades into her career, one that’s seen her work frequently in Hollywood, she’s still almost unrecognisable from role to role.”
Dragonfly is available to stream on ITVX in the UK.
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