by Annette Basile
Worth: $15.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Brenda Blethyn, Andrea Riseborough, Jason Watkins
Intro:
… cleverly straddling genres to craft something of rare originality.
The elderly Elsie (Brenda Blethyn) kisses her fingertips and then transfers that kiss to a photo of her late husband that’s by her bed. It’s a nightly ritual – one of this film’s several poignant scenes of loneliness.
Elsie has a son, John (Jason Watkins), who rarely visits. But under the same roof, on the other side of the wall of a humble semi-detached home, is Colleen (Andrea Riseborough). She’s a thirty-something woman on welfare who lives with her dog Saber (a tough-looking yet sweet Bull breed mix, played by Dixie). Colleen is also isolated, and Dragonfly charts the growth of these neighbours’ unlikely friendship.
The connection starts with Colleen picking up groceries for Elsie, with the younger woman soon taking over the role of carer from the uncaring community nurses who treat Elsie with little dignity. When John finally turns up to see his mum, he’s not happy with the arrangement. He clearly distrusts Colleen.
So far, so very Mike Leigh …
Except writer/director Paul Andrew Williams has a trick up his sleeve. It’s best not to say too much about what happens under the roof of this semi, but there are some shocks in this shape-shifting, genre-jumping tale that take Dragonfly’s third act into unexpected territory.
Williams handles this shift in mood with aplomb, while ultimately, maintaining the social commentary about isolation. It is slow at times, with its extended scenes of the main characters brushing their teeth, shopping, eating and watching TV. Yet the slightly creepy ambient score gives you a sense of foreboding, and right from the start there’s a sense that something dramatic is brewing.
Riseborough is superb as the tough yet vulnerable Colleen, who has a volcanic temper. In one wordless scene, she locks a bewildered Saber out of her bedroom and dons makeup. She looks at the mirror, her face transformed, tears falling down her face. Later, we see the makeup in the trash. Blethyn matches her with the all-too-real portrayal of the aging Elsie, while Watkins is nuanced in his small but pivotal role as Elsie’s distant son. And Dixie, as Saber, deserves special mention. She is central to the story and, although loved, the canine is often on the receiving end of Colleen’s temper tantrums.
Williams is a gutsy filmmaker. He takes the audience in one direction and then makes an unexpected detour, cleverly straddling genres to craft something of rare originality.
