Andrea Riseborough, Brenda Blethyn, Dragonfly, drama, England, film festivals, Jason Watkins, movies, Paul Andrew Williams, Tribeca Festival, Tribeca Film Festival
June 7, 2025
“Dragonfly” (2025)
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams
Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed city in England, the dramatic film “Dragonfly” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A lonely woman volunteers to be the home caregiver for her elderly next-door neighbor, but things turn out much differently than what both women expect.
Culture Audience: “Dragonfly” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and are interested in “slow burn” psychological dramas.
“Dragonfly” isn’t just a “slow burn” psychological drama. This well-acted movie about two lonely people and home caregiving takes an extreme turn in the last 20 minutes to a shocking ending that’s sure to be divisive. It’s the type of movie that sneaks up on you and lingers in your memory long after the movie ends.
Written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, “Dragonfly” takes place in an unnamed city in England, but this story could have taken place in almost anywhere where it’s common for middle-class elderly people to have home care services. “Dragonfly” had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. The movie was filmed in West Yorkshire, England.
Various characters come and go in “Dragonfly,” but the two main characters are 35-year-old bachelorette Colleen (played by Andrea Riseborough) and her elderly disabled next-door widowed neighbor Elsie (played by Brenda Blethyn), who are both living lonely and isolated lives. Colleen, who has no children, has a female mixed-breed pit bull named Saber (played by Dixie) for companionship. Colleen treats Saber like her best friend.
Elsie’s only visitors are the various home care aides that go to her home to give her meals and take care of her hygiene needs. Elsie is not bedridden, but she has difficulty walking and needs assistance to take showers and baths. Elsie has a middle-aged son named John (played by Jason Watkins), who has his own family. Elsie tells John that she wishes that he visited her more, but he tells her that he’s too busy.
Saber is usually a polite and obedient dog but can occasionally get rowdy and seems to get separation anxiety if Colleen leaves Saber home alone. One day, Saber tears up the flower bed in the front of Elsie’s house. Colleen gets upset and makes a profuse apology to Elsie, who is understanding and takes this mishap in stride. Colleen personally buys new flowers and plants them in Elsie’s yard. It’s the start of an unlikely friendship.
On another day, Colleen notes that one of the health care aides has left after only 15 minutes into a shift that was supposed to be a 60-minute shift. Colleen scolds this health care aide, who is defensive but leaves anyway. Colleen then decides to volunteer to be Elsie’s unpaid home care aide, even though Colleen has no training or previous experience as a home care aide.
It’s explained in a conversation in the movie that Colleen is living off of disability benefits that she gets from the government, which also paid for Colleen’s house. Colleen doesn’t reveal much about her past, but she hints that she had a troubled childhood when she mentions to Elsie that she grew up in foster care. Colleen spends most of her days at home watching TV and not showing any indication that she wants a career in anything.
Colleen, who is moody and introverted, doesn’t seem interested in having friends or a love life. She also seems to have a lot of automatic mistrust of people. By contrast, Elsie is an optimist who is generally trusting and open with her feelings. However, both women know that they are lonely, and they enjoy each other’s company.
“Dragonfly” keeps people guessing on whether or not Colleen will take advantage of Elsie’s trust by stealing from her. Elsie has given Colleen access to Elsie’s debit card and personal identification number to use the debit card when Colleen goes grocery shopping for Elsie. There’s also more than one scene where Colleen is alone in Elsie’s bedroom and looks through Colleen’s dresser drawers and sees a jewelry box.
The story is told mainly from Colleen’s perspective because she has more scenes, and there’s more of insight into how empty her life is when she’s at home. Meanwhile, John is wary when Elsie tells him about Colleen volunteering to be Elsie’s unpaid home care aide. John is curious about Colleen, so one day he shows up unannounced when he goes to visit Elsie and to meet Colleen in person. What happens next is when the movie goes from slightly mundane to spiraling into an unexpected turn of events.
The performances of Blethyn and Riseborough, who received Oscar nominations for other movies, are able to maintain viewer interest when the movie tends to drag with not much going on in the first third of the film. The writing and directing in “Dragonfly” sufficiently build some of the tension that follows in the story. The movie’s concluding moments pack an enormous emotional punch. And it’s enough to say that Riseborough’s riveting performance won’t be forgotten by anyone who sees this unsettling movie.