Brenda Blethyn Movies

A single teenage mother operating along the margins of society unleashes a bitter torrent of anger on her unsuspecting neighbors in first-time director Amma Assante's seething psychological drama. Leigh-Ann (Stephanie James) may seem like a victim to some, but in between paying the bills, dealing with welfare officers, and keeping the menacing father of her infant child at bay, this single mother has no time for anything but survival. With so much bottled rage in her life Leigh-Ann is bound to explode sooner or later, and when her brother starts dating the daughter of her Pakistani neighbors this mother's uncontrollable anger threatens to consume both her and the ones she holds dearest. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A mischievous girl accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit, only to find that her words have irrevocably and permanently changed the lives of all involved in a film that re-teams the filmmakers behind Pride & Prejudice to adapt the best-selling 2002 novel by author Ian McEwan. The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy), a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Kevin Spacey serves as both director and star for this biopic based on the life and career of legendary entertainer Bobby Darin, which moves back and forth between his childhood and adult selves to tell the tale of his remarkable life. Born Bobby Cassotto and raised in the Bronx, young Bobby (played as a child by William Ullrich) was raised by his mother, Polly (Brenda Blethyn), his brother-in-law, Charlie (Bob Hoskins), and his sister, Nina (Caroline Aaron). At the age of 15, Bobby contracted a severe case of rheumatic fever, which was expected to take his life; while it left him with a weak heart, Bobby beat the odds and survived. Buoyed by a love of music passed along by his mother, Bobby learned to play several instruments and began singing as he recovered. Displaying a confidence and drive which stopped just short of arrogance, he adopted the stage name Bobby Darin and set his sights on becoming a star. After a string of hits as a rock & roll singer, Darin (played as an adult by Kevin Spacey) takes another gamble, and with the help of manager Steve Blauner (John Goodman) he reinvents himself as a supper-club vocalist in the manner of Frank Sinatra. All the more remarkably, he succeeds, and his swinging version of "Mack the Knife" tops the charts. Now a major singing star, Darin decides to take up acting; on the set of his first movie, he woos his female co-star Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), and despite the stern objections of her mother (Greta Scacchi), Bobby and Sandra wed. But after a string of successful movies for Dee and hit records and an Oscar nomination for Darin, the shifting tastes of the 1960s throw their careers off-track. Bobby cautiously embraces the new sounds of the day, but his old fans don't want to hear him cover Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones, while the younger audience isn't interested in his new sound, leaving Darin in a difficult place to make his way back to stardom. Kevin Spacey did his own singing for Beyond the Sea, recreating Bobby Darin's vocal style with uncanny accuracy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Roy Marsden stars as Commander Adam Dalgliesh in this made-for-television adaptation of the novel by P.D. James. Edwin Lorrimer (Geoffrey Palmer) is a noted forensic scientist who is often called upon to testify in court proceedings as an expert witness, and when he dies as a result of foul play, Dalgliesh is called in to investigate. Lorrimer was killed inside the building where he worked, and given the tight security of his offices, initial police research assumes that someone who worked alongside Lorrimer is the most likely culprit. However, the longer Dalgliesh looks into the murder, the more he's convinced the answer lies elsewhere. Originally aired as a three-part miniseries, Death of an Expert Witness also features John Vine, Barry Foster, and Brenda Blethyn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Made for British television by filmmaker Mike Leigh, Grown Ups is a detailed slice-of-life drama about a married, working-class couple in Canterbury, England. The film begins with the young couple, Dick and Mandy, moving to a new, rather small home and becoming neighbors to Mr. Butcher, an abrasive, ill-humored man who they once had as a schoolteacher. This rather awkward living situation soon becomes even more uncomfortable, thanks to the near-constant presence of Mandy's older sister, Gloria. (Gloria is portrayed by Brenda Blethyn, who 17 years later would win recognition and an Oscar nomination for her work in Leigh's Secrets and Lies.) Gloria's eccentricity and desperate, child-like neediness leads her to become increasingly dependent on the young couple, showing up at all hours and rarely leaving. Her behavior grates on the already sour Dick and comes to test Mandy's patience as well. When Mandy's efforts to politely discourage her sister's visits prove fruitless, the extended family is forced into a painful, emotionally charged confrontation. Leigh purposefully alternates the film's more immediate dramatic elements with careful, real-time portraits of daily life, giving equal weight to both traumatic arguments and extended conversations about home decor and vacuum cleaners. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

An already-unstable household becomes a virtual battle zone when the son of a risqué comedienne and a has-been singer finds mom meddling in his love life in director Cherie Nowlan's dysfunctional romantic comedy. Twenty-one-year-old Tim Dwight (Khan Chittenden) comes from a peculiar family; his mother, Jean (Brenda Blethyn), is a bawdy stage comic renowned for her scatological sense of humor and his father, John (Frankie J. Holden), is a faded country-music star who now works as a low-rent security guard. While dad is busy trying to revive his flat-lined career, mom spends most of her time doting on Tim and his developmentally disabled brother, Mark (Richard Wilson). Upon meeting the beautiful Jill (Emma Booth), Tim believes his may have finally found the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately in Jean's eyes there is only room for one woman in Tim's life, and that woman is his mother. As Tim's relationship with Jill grows increasingly serious, the stage is set for a battle royal between the woman who once gave him life and the prospective mother of his future children. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Based on Jim Cartright's play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, this screen adaptation directed by Mark Herman is an underdog film about an underdog girl named Little Voice (or LV for short). LV (Jane Horrocks from Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet who does all her own singing) is a shy, mousy woman living with her mom Mari (Secrets and Lies' Brenda Blethyn). Little Voice doesn't leave her house. Instead she sings along to her record collection of Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland, and Marilyn Monroe. Her mother Mari, however, is an outspoken woman who is convinced her sex appeal (which is little) will land her a man, especially when she's drunk. One night while bar-hopping, Mari meets the suave yet sleazy talent agent Ray Say (Michael Caine), whom she takes home for a nightcap. There Ray hears the beautiful Little Voice singing a perfect rendition of Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz. He's stunned by its beauty and thinks he can make her a star. From there the story heads in complicated, romantic, and sweet-hearted directions that should not be given away. Also starring in this small independent film is Ewan McGregor. ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi

Nicole Holofcener, writer/director of the critically acclaimed Walking and Talking, shifts her focus from New York to Los Angeles for her second feature, Lovely & Amazing. Jane Marks (Brenda Blethyn of Secrets and Lies) is a middle-aged woman who's about to undergo liposuction. She has three daughters. Michelle (Catherine Keener) is a cynical, self-involved, would-be artist in an unhappy marriage. Elizabeth is a struggling actress who constantly takes in stray dogs. Her insecurities about her attractiveness come to the fore when she blows a screen test with a big movie star, Kevin (Dermot Mulroney). The youngest of the Marks sisters, Annie (Raven Goodwin), is an overweight eight-year-old African-American girl whose birth mother was an addict. Jane has adopted Annie, and is determined to provide her with a better life. Jane has a crush on her suave surgeon (Michael Nouri of Flashdance), but her family is thrown into chaos when complications arise during her outpatient procedure, and she's forced to stay in the hospital. Michelle, pressured by her husband (Clark Gregg) to take some financial responsibility for raising their young daughter, eventually gets a part-time job working in a one-hour photo booth, where she meets Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), a misfit teen who awkwardly flirts with her. Elizabeth's boyfriend, Paul (James LeGros), who seems to disapprove of the entertainment industry, leaves her. Annie eats compulsively and misbehaves. When the family is faced with a series of crises, relationship patterns that had solidified over the years subtly begin to change. A festival favorite, Lovely & Amazing has been shown at the 2001 Telluride Film Festival, the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, and the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall headline this family drama inspired by the true story of two parents whose adult daughter suffers from an unknown ailment that makes her behavior highly erratic, and occasionally destructive. Bill and Wendy Ainscow love their daughter Lisa (Rebekah Staton) unconditionally, but that doesn't mean that she's easy to live with. Lisa suffers from an undetermined mental illness that leaves her prone to emotional outburst, compulsive spending, and open hostility, all of which have made life excruciatingly difficult for her increasingly desperate parents. When Britain's mental health services declare that Lisa is well enough to live at home, her parents are forced to resort to desperate measures in order to ensure that their troubled daughter is given the best care possible. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A middle-aged man gives himself the challenge of a lifetime in this comedy drama from the U.K. Frank (Peter Mullan) has spent most of his 55 years working the same job in the shipyards of Glasgow until he's fired after business tapers off and technology makes his position unnecessary. While Frank tries to put on a brave face, he has no idea of what to do next or what sort of work he should find. Frank's embarrassment gets much worse when he applies for unemployment benefits, only to discover his sister-in-law Angela (Jodhi May) is working behind the corner. As Frank's anxiety grows worse, he begins having panic attacks, leading to sympathy from his wife, Joan (Brenda Blethyn), and son, Rob (Jamie Sives), which only makes him feel more humiliated. One of Frank's few respites from his troubles are his regular visits to a nearby community swimming pool, where he does laps with his pals Eddie (Sean McGinley), Norman (Ron Cook), and Danny (Billy Boyd). One day, one of them jokes about the possibility of swimming the English Channel, which is only 21 miles across at its narrowest point near Dover. However, Frank doesn't think the idea is so silly, and begins training to make the journey; while at first his family and friends think he's gone mad, his plans give him a drive and a sense of purpose he hasn't had since losing his job. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jim Crocker (Sam Rockwell) is an American ne'er-do-well living in England with his tolerant father, Bingley (Tom Wilkinson), and his snooty, social-climbing stepmother, Eugenia (Allison Janney). As the film opens, Jim has been fouling up Eugenia's efforts to obtain a peerage with his all-too-public drinking, carousing, and fighting. He's lived there ever since he lost his job writing a society column for a newspaper in New York. Due to his notoriety, the newspaper has continued running a column under his byline, "Piccadilly Jim," though he no longer writes it. He's fairly content in his debauchery until he runs into the comparatively refined Ann (Frances O'Connor), who, as it turns out, is the niece of Eugenia's sister and chief rival, Nesta (Brenda Blethyn). Jim is eager to meet Ann until he learns that she already hates Piccadilly Jim without having met him. Jim hatches an elaborate plot to win Ann's heart, posing as the upright son of his own butler, and traveling to America to stay with Nesta and her family, including her husband (and Ann's beloved uncle Peter [Austin Pendleton]), their obnoxious young son Ogden, and Ann and her potential fiancé, Reggie (Hugh Bonneville). As he sets out to win Ann's heart, Jim is shocked to discover that several other residents of the house are there under false pretenses, including his own father. Piccadilly Jim was adapted from P.G. Wodehouse's novel by Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) and directed by John McKay (Crush). The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi