10 Top British Movies
Would You Like A Cup Of Tea? Here Comes The Brits, God Save
The Queen!
Oct 05 '03
The Bottom Line It's the damn accent!
Ah, the UK. Was in London not too long ago, went up on the Eye
and that new Tate Gallery. Cool place. British movies unfortunately, don't
really seem to be in the general consciousness, are they? Perhaps it's just
where I come from. I've raked through my mind to come with with this list.
They're worth a look at, I think.
1) Trainspotting : A dark comedy populated by junkies, losers and lowlife. Yet
through it all one cannot help but feel for them as fellow human beings, flawed
as they are. Ewan McGregor does a wonderful job in this movie, as does Robert
Carlyle.
2) Gosford Park : Does this count as a British movie? It certainly has a lot of
Brits in it. A stellar cast, including Maggie Smith, Charles Dance, Kristin
Scott Tomas, Helen Mirren, Ryan Phillipe and Emily Watson, just to name a few. A
murder mystery, but as another reviewer puts it, not a who-done-it but a
why-done-it. Also a wonderful study of British society. Half the fun is trying
to follow who does what with whom to whom. Oh, plus that Maggie Smith is really
funny and biiittchy in this movie.
3) 4 Weddings & A Funeral : An immensely heart-warming love story between
Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell over four weddings and a funeral. It's funny and
lovey-dovey, and touching too. The most memorable bit for me is the recital of
Auden's poem at the funeral. Marvellous stuff.
4) Little Voice : A shy girl with a huge voice is discovered. Michael Caine
plays an oily, slightly over the hill talent scout with great ease. Jane
Horrocks is great as LV, the girl with the voice and the crass, over-the-top
mother. Brenda Blethyn plays the mother and gives a nuances that makes her
slightly more than 2-dimensional, but with such a horrid accent I can never
quite make out what she says. The nice part of the movie is watching LV come out
of her shell.
5) East Is East : This is about a Pakistani family in England. The father is
married to a white woman, but wants his children married to proper Pakistani
partners. Strangely enough his children seem to represent a range of
stereotypes: the rebel, the obedient mama's boy, the queer, the tom-boy.
Nevertheless, this movie does boast a tender and funny storyline about parents
and children, racial relationships, ethnic traditions, mixed-race marriages,
love and marriage.
6) The Full Monty : A bunch of down and out fellas decide to make money by
stripping all the way (instead of just a G-string). This despite they look
nothing like the Chippendales; they're scrawny, fat, old, or just ordinary. It's
all about going out on a limb, overcoming the odds, rising up from the ashes,
beating the system. At the end you'd be cheering them on. Lots of fun. The songs
are great too. And catch the musical too if you can.
7) Shallow Grave : By Danny Boyle, who directed Trainspotting too. 2 guys and a
girl interview prospective tenants. One of them dies and leaves a lot of money
from suspicious origins. Then all hell breaks loose. Stars Ewan McGregor,
Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox. A witty film.
8) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels : Before becoming Madonna's hubby, Guy
Ritchie directed this gem. It's a dark comedy of errors, with gangsters, hence
its title. Very tightly scripted and choreographed.
9) Notting Hill : Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Both do their thing and
surprisingly it works. Hugh plays the owner of a small bookshop and Julia is the
mega-star who steps into it one day. Naturally they fall in love. Lovey-dovey at
its best!!!
10) Bend It Like Beckham : David Beckham, one of the best footballers in the
world, and I mean real football, not the stuff Americans play. Ok, I'm just
teasing. Anyway, this is about an Indian girl in the UK who likes football (or
as they call it in the US, soccer), which goes against traditions (in that it's
a boy's game, and proper Indian girls should not indulge in it). All about
breaking with traditions and following your heart.
Other titles to check out:
- Movies by Peter Greenaway (eg. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover,
The Pillow Book)
- Billy Elliot: Another good movie about a boy who loves ballet, but of course
that's only for gays, right? It's about overcoming the odds. Very touching.
- Intimacy: A rather controversial movie. Strangers meeting for sex without
commitment, except they start falling in love. However, the ending is not as pat
as in romance movies. Not easy to watch, but rewarding.
- Howard's End: Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter at their best.
- The Remains Of The Day: I loved the book and I loved this movie adaptation.
- Sense & Sensibility: Directed by Lee Ang (or Ang Lee as he is sometimes
known). A great retelling of a great book.
