Editing Brenda Blethyn (section)

===2004–2010: Established actress ===
[[File:Brenda Blethyn.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Blethyn at 43rd [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]] in 2008]]
Blethyn co-starred as [[Bobby Darin]]'s mother Polly Cassotto in ''[[Beyond the Sea (2004 film)|Beyond the Sea]]'', a 2004 biographical film about the singer. The film was a financial disappointment: budgeted at an estimated US$25 million, it opened to little notice and grossed only $6 million in its North American theatrical run.<ref name="rotten-3">{{cite web|title=''Beyond the Sea'' box offive |work=Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/beyond_the_sea/numbers.php |access-date=7 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126124816/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/beyond_the_sea/numbers.php |archive-date=26 November 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> [[Margaret Pomeranz]] of ''[[At the Movies (Australian TV series)|At the Movies]]'' said that her casting was "a bit mystifying".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1675427.htm|title=Beyond The Sea|last=Pomeranz|first=Margaret|work=[[At the Movies (Australian TV series)|At the Movies]]|access-date=14 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820105834/http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1675427.htm|archive-date=20 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Afterwards, Blethyn starred in ''[[A Way of Life (2004 film)|A Way of Life]]'', playing a bossy and censorious mother-in-law of a struggling young woman, played by [[Stephanie James]], and in the television film ''Belonging'', starring as a middle-aged childless woman who is left to look after the elderly relatives of her husband and to make a new life for herself after he leaves her for a younger woman.<ref name="bel">{{cite news|title=Blethyn looks forward to Baftas|first=Caroline|last=Westbrook|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/entertainment/4439497.stm|date=13 April 2005|access-date=16 January 2010}}</ref> Blethyn received a Golden FIPA Award and a BAFTA nomination for the latter role.<ref name="bel"/> That same year she made her [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] debut in the play ''[['Night Mother]]'' opposite [[Edie Falco]]. [[Ben Brantley]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that while "she has the requisite fretful voice and fidgety mannerisms down pat, it's as if she is doing a technically perfect impersonation in a vacuum."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/15/theater/reviews/motherdaughter-angst-with-death-in-the-wings.html|title= Mother-Daughter Angst, With Death in the Wings|website= [[The New York Times]]|accessdate= June 25, 2024}}</ref>

In early 2005, Blethyn appeared in the indie-drama ''[[On a Clear Day (film)|On a Clear Day]]'' playing Joan, a [[Glasgow]] housewife, who secretly enrolls in bus-driving classes after her husband's dismissal. Her performance in the film received positive reviews; ABC writer MaryAnn Johanson wrote: "It's Blethyn, who wraps the movie in a cosy, comfortable, maternal hug that reassures you that it will weather its risk-taking with aplomb [...]."<ref>{{cite web|title=''On a Clear Day'' review|url=http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1609012.htm|work=ABC|access-date=10 February 2009|first=Pomeranz|last=Margaret|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917134707/http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1609012.htm|archive-date=17 September 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The film became a minor success at the international box-office chart, barely grossing $1&nbsp;million worldwide,<ref>{{cite web|title=''On a Clear Day'' (2005)|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2006/ONACD.php|work=The Numbers|access-date=10 February 2009}}</ref> but was awarded a [[BAFTA Award|BAFTA Scotland Award]] for Best Film and Screenplay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410400/awards|title=Awards for ''On a Clear Day'' (2005)|work=[[IMDb|Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=10 February 2009}}</ref>

A major hit for Blethyn came with [[Joe Wright]]'s ''[[Pride & Prejudice (2005 film)|Pride & Prejudice]]'', a 2005 adaptation of the same-titled novel by [[Jane Austen]].<ref name="nine"/> Starring alongside [[Keira Knightley]] and [[Donald Sutherland]], Blethyn played [[Mrs. Bennet]], a fluttery mother of five sisters who desperately schemes to marry her daughters off to men of means. During promotion of the film, she noted of her portrayal of the character: "I've always thought she had a real problem and shouldn't be made fun of. She's pushy with a reason. As soon as [[Mr. Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)|Mr. Bennet]] dies, all the money goes down the male line; she has to save her daughters from penury."<ref>{{cite news|title='Ambition? I'd rather retire'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3646215/%27Ambition-I%27d-rather-retire%27.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421111516/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3646215/%27Ambition-I%27d-rather-retire%27.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 April 2013|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=10 February 2009|first=Cassandra|last=Jardine|date=5 October 2006 | location=London}}</ref> With both a worldwide gross of over US$121&nbsp;million and several Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations,<ref name="ten"/> the film became a critical and commercial success,<ref name="nine">{{cite web |title=''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005)|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/people/BBLET.php|work=The Numbers|access-date=10 February 2009}}</ref> spawning Blethyn another [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role]].<ref name="ten">{{cite web |title=Awards for Brenda Blethyn|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000950/awards|publisher=[[IMDb]]|access-date=10 February 2009}}</ref> In 2007, she appeared in the independent Australian coming-of-age comedy ''[[Clubland (2007 film)|Clubland]]''. Playing a character that was created specifically with her in mind, Blethyn portrayed a bawdy comedian with a sinking career faced with the romantic life of her young son, played by [[Khan Chittenden]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myculturallifemagazine.co.uk/articles/459/1/Interview-Brenda-Blethyn/.html |title=Interview: Brenda Blethyn |author=Markin, Sacha |work=My Cultural Life London |access-date=28 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121065758/http://www.myculturallifemagazine.co.uk/articles/459/1/Interview-Brenda-Blethyn/.html |archive-date=21 November 2008 }}</ref> The film was released in Australia in June 2007, and was screened [[Sundance Film Festival]] where distributed [[Warner Independent Pictures]] for a $4&nbsp;million deal and gained positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/22/more-sundance-deals-teeth-clubland/ |title=More Sundance Deals: ''Teeth'', ''Clubland'' |author=Markin, Sacha |work=Cinematical |access-date=28 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725032610/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/22/more-sundance-deals-teeth-clubland/ |archive-date=25 July 2008 }}</ref> ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' film critic Carina Chocano wrote, "the movie belongs to Blethyn, who takes a difficult, easily misunderstood role and gracefully cracks it open to reveal what's inside."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-dwights4jul04,0,2714743.story?coll=cl-mreview |date=4 July 2007 |title=''Introducing the Dwights'' review |author=Chocano, Carina |work=Calendar Live |access-date=28 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205083457/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-dwights4jul04%2C0%2C2714743.story?coll=cl-mreview |archive-date=5 February 2008 }}</ref> The role earned her nominations for the [[Australian Film Institute Award]] and an [[Inside Film Awards|Inside Film Award]].<ref name="ten"/>

Also in 2007, Blethyn reunited with Joe Wright on ''[[Atonement (2007 film)|Atonement]]'', an adaptation from [[Ian McEwan]]'s critically acclaimed [[Atonement (novel)|novel of the same name]]. On her role of a housekeeper in a cast that also features [[Keira Knightley]], [[Saoirse Ronan]] and [[James McAvoy]], Blethyn commented: "It's a tiny, tiny part. If you blink you'll miss me."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21942898-5003420,00.html|date=22 June 2007|title=Late Bloomer a Conqueror|first=Des|last=Partridge|work=The Courier-Mail|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref> The film garnered generally positive reviews from film critics and received a [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture nomination at the 2008 Academy Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/atonement/ |title=Atonement&nbsp;– Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=18 January 2007 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/atonement |title=Atonement (2007): Reviews |access-date=15 December 2007 |publisher=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref> A box office success around the globe, it went on to gross a total of $129&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref name=mojoweek>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=atonement.htm |title=Atonement (2007)|access-date=13 September 2009|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> Blethyn also appeared as Márja Dmitrijewna Achrosímowa in a supporting role in the internationally produced 2007 miniseries ''[[War and Peace (2007 TV miniseries)|War and Peace]]'' by [[RAI]], filmed in Russia and Lithuania.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-19605708_ITM|date=5 October 2006|title=Fancy that!|first=Natalie|last=Hale|work=Western Daily Press|publisher=AccessMyLibrary.com|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref>

In 2008, Blethyn made her American [[television|small screen]] debut with a guest role on [[CBS]] sitcom ''[[The New Adventures of Old Christine]]'', playing the neurotic mother to [[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]]' character in the [[The New Adventures of Old Christine (season 4)|fourth season]] episode "Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/Old-Christine-casting-27453.aspx|date=21 October 2008|title=Exclusive: ''Old Christine''´s Mum Is Brenda Blethyn|first=Matt|last=Mitovich|work=TV Guide|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref> The same year, she appeared in a single [[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 10)|season ten]] episode of the [[NBC]] [[legal drama]] series ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]''. Her performance of a sympathetic fugitive of domestic violence and rape that killed her first husband in self-defense earned Blethyn another [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress&nbsp;– Drama Series]] nomination.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-19605708_ITM|title=About the Show|date=5 October 2006|publisher=CTV|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref> Blethyn provided the voice of [[List of Winnie-the-Pooh characters#Mama Heffalump|Mama Heffalump]] in the animated [[Disney]] movie, ''[[Pooh's Heffalump Movie]]'' (2005) and later again provided the voice of Mama Heffalump in the Disney direct-to-video animated sequel ''[[Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too]]'' (2009).

Blethyn's first film in two years, [[Rachid Bouchareb]]'s ''[[London River]]'' opened at the [[59th Berlin International Film Festival]] in 2009 where it won a Special Mention by the Ecumenical Jury.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/preise_und_juries/preise_unabhaengigen_jurys/index.html|title=Prizes of the Independent Juries 2009|publisher=Berlin International Film Festival|access-date=13 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007014341/http://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/preise_und_juries/preise_unabhaengigen_jurys/index.html|archive-date=7 October 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="London River">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/10/berlin-film-festival-terrorism-london-river|title=London River, a film set during aftermath of 7 July bombings, premieres at Berlin film festival|last=Brown|first=Mark|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 February 2009 | date=10 February 2009}}</ref> In the film, for which Blethyn had to learn French, she portrays a mother waiting for news of her missing child after the [[Timeline of the 2005 London bombings|London bombings of July 2005]], striking up a friendship with a [[Muslim]] man, whose child has also disappeared.<ref name="London River"/> Blethyn, who had initially felt sceptical and reticent about the film due to its background, was originally not available for filming but Bouchareb decided to delay filming to work with her.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eitb.com/news/entertainment/detail/252143/blethyn-had-to-learn-french-in-two-months-for-latest-film/|title=Brenda Blethyn 'learned French in two months' for latest film|first=Olwen|last=Mears|work=e!tb.com|date=25 September 2009|access-date=15 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728102734/http://www.eitb.com/news/entertainment/detail/252143/blethyn-had-to-learn-french-in-two-months-for-latest-film/|archive-date=28 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Upon release, the film received favourable reviews, particularly for its "dynamite acting".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/london_river/ |title=London River (2011) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref> Mike Scott from ''[[The Times-Picayune]]'' commented "that Blethyn's performance is nuanced [...] it's that performance—at turns sweet, funny and heartbreaking—that ultimately draws viewers in and defies them to stop watching".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/01/london_river_review_strong_per.html |title='London River' review: Strong performance lifts week's 'other' post-9/11 drama|first=Mike |last=Scott|work=[[The Times-Picayune]]|access-date=28 March 2013 | date=19 January 2012 }}</ref>

Also in 2009, Blethyn played a [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine nun]] in [[Jan Dunn]]'s film ''[[The Calling (2009 film)|The Calling]]'', also starring [[Joanna Scanlan]] and [[Pauline McLynn]]. Dunn's third feature film, it tells the story of Joanna, played by [[Emily Beecham]], who after graduating from university, goes against her family and friends when she decides to join a closed order of nuns. Released to film festivals in 2009, the independent drama was not released to UK cinemas until 2010, when it was met with mixed to negative reviews by critics, some of which declared it "half ''[[Doubt (2008 film)|Doubt]]'', half ''[[Hollyoaks]]''".<ref name="empire-calling">{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=136792|title=The Calling|first=David |last=Parkinson |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|access-date=30 April 2013| date=10 April 2010}}</ref> Blethyn however, earned positive reviews for her performance; ''[[The Guardian]]'' writer Catherine Shoard wrote that "only she, really, manages to ride the rollercoaster jumps in plot and tone."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/apr/22/the-calling-review|title=The Calling|first=Catherine |last=Shoard |work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=30 April 2013| date=10 April 2010 |location=London}}</ref> Her last film of 2009 was [[Alex De Rakoff]]'s crime film ''[[Dead Man Running]]'' alongside [[Tamer Hassan]], [[Danny Dyer]], and [[50 Cent]], in which she portrayed the wheelchair-using mother of a criminal who is taken hostage. The film received universally negative reviews from film critics, who deemed it to be full of "poor performances, stiff dialogue, [and] flat characters".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dead-man-running/ |title=Dead Man Running (2009) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref>