Dragonfly (15) Film Review
Dir: Paul Andrew Williams, UK, 2025, 98 mins
Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Andrea Riseborough, Jason Watkins
Review by Carol Allen
They are both lonely but they don’t know each other. Elsie, who is housebound after a recent fall, is being looked after by carers, imposed on her by her son John (Jason Watkins), who rarely visits. As far as she is concerned, the carers are strangers in her house, who don’t even know her name. Colleen leads a solitary existence, apart from an almost unhealthily close attachment to her dog Sabre – a big, noisy, ugly brute but basically harmless.
Colleen notices that Elsie’s carers are sloping off early and not doing a great job and the neighbours finally connect when Sabre damages the older woman’s flower bed, Colleen knocks on the door to apologise and pulls herself out of her withdrawal to become a good neighbour, doing Elsie’s shopping, helping her with meals and eventually replacing the carers. And the two women warily become friends. There is still something odd about Colleen though. She now has Eileen’s credit card and PIN for the shopping trips. Is she going to steal from the older woman? Or are we imposing the negative expectations of our society onto her?
The film so far is a study in contemporary isolation and two people attempting to reach across that barrier. Then Elsie’s son John, who has so far only been heard on the phone, finally pays a visit and, probably out of guilt, is horrified and resentful of the role Colleen is playing in his mother’s life. On the pretext of protecting her, he confronts Colleen – an action which results in a brutal and tragic third act which is almost on a level with Jacobean tragedy.
The film is beautifully acted by both women. Blethyn, looking much older and frailer than she ever does in real life, is just brilliant, but matched by Riseborough in a more low key but ultimately tragic role. Watkins’ character is mostly just a voice on the phone, but when he finally appears, although he has dialogue, we almost don’t need it. We can see what’s going through his mind from just his highly expressive face and body language.
Written, produced and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, whose previous films include London to Brighton (2006) and the beautiful Song for Marion (2012), this is a beautiful and disturbing film, which is also a masterclass in subtle and effective acting and direction.
