Rock, she played Phoebe, the mysterious love interest of Alec Baldwin's character, Jack Donaghy. 2009–2019: Career progression in film Mortimer starred in Daniel Barber's first film, Harry Brown (2009), as police detective Alice Frampton. The plot follows widowed veteran (Michael Caine), who takes the law into his own hands when teenage violence ruins his community. Mortimer chose the role because "It felt like unfamiliar territory for me which is always a challenge and interesting [...] the script is very gripping and brilliantly written [...] getting to work with Michael, and then just the character being in some ways both the opposite and the same as Michael's character." To prepare for the role, she spent time with a real female detective, and learnt about police interrogation techniques. Upon release, the critic from USA Today thought her performance was "caring and savvy", despite the film's "senseless violence". Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times wrote of Mortimer's performance: "Her clinical coolness plays well off of Caine's controlled heat." Mortimer played an aspiring actress opposite Andy García in City Island (2009). Although the film's reception was warm, her role in City Island was noted by two critics as "vague" and weak. She appeared as Rachel Solando in Martin Scorsese's 2010 thriller Shutter Island. Several critics thought Shutter Island was unexciting, and that Mortimer and her fellow actors were not utilised to their full potential. The film found moderate success at the box office, grossing $294 million from a budget of $80 million. She portrayed American educator Leonie Gilmour in the biographical drama Leonie (2010). Of her performance, The Hollywood Reporter opined that it was a "superb portrayal", which showcased her acting range. In 2011, she had a role in Our Idiot Brother as Liz, the sister of Paul Rudd's titular character. In that same year, Mortimer appeared in Scorsese's Hugo, an adaptation of Brian Selznick's book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo won five Academy Awards from eleven nominations, but was a box office disappointment. Also in 2011, she started work with screenwriter and producer Aaron Sorkin, playing Mackenzie McHale in HBO's The Newsroom. Although the first season of the series gained a mixed reception, the later seasons fared better. Several critics praised Mortimer's acting abilities in season one, but they took issue with her character's writing. In January 2013, it was announced that Mortimer would be co-creating and starring in the comedy series