Vera icon’s dramatic new role finally gets its release date confirmed – and there’s not long to wait

Brenda Blethyn, famous for playing the main role in the popular ITV detective series Vera for 14 years, plays Elsie in Dragonfly. Elsie is an older woman who isn’t being properly cared for.

Colleen (Andrea Riseborough), a neighbor, notices Elsie needs help and they become close, with Colleen eventually becoming her caregiver. Elsie’s son, played by Watkins, is suspicious of this arrangement, and it becomes clear that Colleen might have hidden motives.

If you’re not seeing the box above, you might need to adjust your privacy preferences. At the bottom of the TopMob website, click ‘Manage Privacy Settings’. Then, under ‘Site Vendors’, make sure you’ve allowed ‘YouTube’ and save your changes by clicking ‘Save & Exit’.

The film was first shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and then at the Edinburgh Film Festival last month, and both the film and the acting have been praised by audiences.

At the Tribeca Film Festival, both Blethyn and Riseborough received a Performance award. Meanwhile, the film Dragonfly took home the International Feature award at the Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland back in July.

It’s hard to categorize this film, but it has been selected to be shown at several horror film festivals.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Williams described the ending as terrifying, but clarified that it doesn’t fit neatly into the horror genre.

I probably leaned into how people expected the characters to behave. There’s definitely music, key moments, and one specific jump scare that even surprised me – it’s really effective and will make audiences jump out of their seats.

Honestly, when people call it ‘horrific,’ I get that – life *is* full of awful things. But when it comes to whether it’s a true ‘horror’ movie? Not really, and that’s okay with me! I’m actually excited we’re submitting it to a few horror festivals, though I’m bracing myself for some negative reactions – I’m totally prepared to get booed, and that’s part of the fun!

If you’re a fan of Brenda Blethyn, there’s more good news: she’s also starring in a new version of a popular old Channel 4 series.

• What films are out in UK cinemas this week? Reviews from Steve to Happyend
• Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale star reveals whether Matthew Goode absence impacted Lady Mary plot