Vera icon Brenda Blethyn reveals acclaimed new film Dragonfly makes viewers question their judgement

New film Dragonfly has been receiving rave reviews since its release last Friday (7th November) – not least for the award-nominated performances from stars Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough.

The drama tells the story of a lonely and vulnerable pensioner named Elsie (Blethyn) who finds an unexpected ally in her next-door neighbour Colleen (Riseborough) after the latter offers to lend her a helping hand.

Jason Watkins also stars as Elsie's son, who is not so enthused about this new friendship – in large part due to his pre-existing judgements about Colleen and the kind of person he expects her to be.

This tapped into one of the things that Blethyn found interesting about the project, as she explained in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.

"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 said.

"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."

Although for the most part Dragonfly falls into the social realism genre, it takes a more sinister turn in its final act – culminating in the "shock" Blethyn mentions above.

That shift in tone has led some people to label it as a thriller, or even a horror, so what does Blethyn herself think?

Read more:

• Why Vera icon Brenda Blethyn didn’t want to do new film Dragonfly at first - and what changed her mind
• Dragonfly review: Brenda Blethyn is at her very best in frequently heartbreaking film

"Well, it's just the circumstances in the film can turn ugly, if you like," she said. "[It's] not justified, you can't ever justify that. But it's just the circumstances coming out of this ordinary friendship that develops between this old lady and sort of a social outcast next door – a young lady.

"It's almost like a romance, because they're suddenly getting along very well and quite enjoying each other's company. And then something happens to throw the spanner in the works and that's what turns it upside down."

For his part, director Paul Andrew Williams explained that although he'd seen people describe the film as both horror and genre, he just thought "about it being a story".

He continued: "And you know, people can make their own mind up what it is and what it isn't. Like [Blethyn] says, it is ugly and it is horrible, but is it horror? I don't know, it's horrific."

Dragonfly is now showing in UK cinemas.

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