100 Unmissable Film4 Movies
51. Another Year (2010)
In Another Year, we observe the lives of the happily married Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen), and the comings and goings of their friends and family, all of whom seem to have more problems than them, particularly the fragile Mary (Lesley Manville).
Another Year gets you in a certain leisurely headspace as we follow the comfortable domestic lives of a couple through seasonal changes, the warmth and gentle humour occasionally punctured when they have to bring someone else they deeply care about out of the dark place they find themselves in.
It was one of director Mike Leigh’s most successful films by award wins, receiving a special mention Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes and numerous awards for Lesley Manville’s performance in addition to an Oscar nomination for the film’s screenplay. SSP
52. 127 Hours (2011)
James Franco plays Aron Ralston, a real man who had to cut his way out of being trapped between rocks in a canyon upon realising he may die of dehydration, in Danny Boyle’s visceral follow-up to his Best Picture winner Slumdog Millionaire.
Sticking close to Boyle’s digital filmmaking roots, 127 Hours is anchored by direct-to-camcorder recordings that outline the character’s thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears. And the rest is equally as in your face – the Dutch angles and ways Franco emotes being dialled all the way up to 11. The sound design is equally as spiky, but undebatable in its outstanding quality.
127 Hours was nominated for 6 Oscars, including Best Picture, Actor In a Leading Role, Film Editing and Original Score, and was a further 8-time BAFTA nominee, but didn’t win any awards. James Franco was, however, selected as Best Male Lead at the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards. JW
53. Submarine (2011)
Introverted South Wales teenager Oliver (Craig Roberts) falls for the prickly Jordana (Yasmin Paige) and seeks to repair the failing relationship between his parents (Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor).
Richard Ayoade’s directorial debut is a tale of falling in lust, falling out of love, coping with grief and being consumed by depression. The heavy themes in this restrained dramedy are balanced by a colorful aesthetic, pitch perfect performances from both the newcomers and the veterans, and all reinforced by the crooning original songs from Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys fame).
Submarine won Best Feature and Best Actor for Roberts from BAFTA Cymru and Best Screenplay for Ayoade at the BIFAs. SSP
54. Attack the Block (2011)
Moses (John Boyega) and his mates spend most of their time getting up to no good, patrolling their South London estate. One night, aliens start dropping out of the sky. They can’t trust the authorities to sort it out, so they take matters into their own hands.
While a box office flop in the United States, the UK took it to its heart and the film earned more than £1million during its opening weekend (a total that most independent films don’t reach), even when facing up to the powerhouses of Marvel and the Fast and Furious franchise, who topped the chart with Thor and Fast Five. The film was immediately seen as a cult classic by many critics and it took home many awards, from the Los Angeles and Sitges film festivals to the Black Reel Awards.
Attack the Block was a debut film for Director Joe Cornish, actor John Boyega, and composer Steven Price. It has a fresh and enthusiastic look and feel, even if the plot falls short at moments. It manages to weave fun and humour with much more serious topics such as racism, the plight of disenfranchised youth and the notion of home. ML
55. Tyrannosaur (2011)
Respected British actor Paddy Considine stepped behind the camera for his feature directorial debut Tyranossaur in 2011. Through his work as both director and writer, he offered a brutal exploration of masculinity and trauma, and their links to violence, in a movie that earned great critical praise.
Peter Mullan, an actor whose talent has long been heralded as exceptional and whose career speaks for itself, is at the very height of his game here. He’s weathered, troubled, and simply unmissable as a man in pursuit of redemption. The actor is supported on the screen by at-the-time rising talent Olivia Colman, who plays a character who gives him hope, and by the always reliable Eddie Marsan. Though this delectable who’s who of British talent may make headlines in a contemporary context, Tyranossaur is very much Considine and Mullan’s movie – and it’s all the better for this focus.
Director Paddy Considine and producer Diarmid Scrimshaw won the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 2012 BAFTA Film Awards, with Considine winning for Best Debut at the British Independent Film Awards. Tyrannosaur also won Best British Independent Film at the BIFAs, with Olivia Colman winning Best Actress. JW
56. Shame (2012)
Just a few years removed from his debut feature Shame, director Steve McQueen returned with another dour subject matter, this time focusing his lens on the often neglected subject of sex addiction. In this film, which reunited the director with star Michael Fassbender, and co-starred an on-the-rise Carey Mulligan, the pursuit of sex by any means is a poison that Fassbender’s Brandon must overcome.
Blurring the lines of what’s acceptable on screen and certainly what’s usual, Shame is a typically testing piece from McQueen. There’s plenty of nudity, lots of sex scenes, and the film even broaches incest through on-screen brother and sister duo Fassbender and Mulligan. It’s one of those “down the rabbit hole” films where the debauchery and the excess seems to grow as the runtime pushes on, though McQueen never loses sight of his perspective that this addiction is precisely that; a life-altering trouble that can be deadly, and must be overcome for self-preservation.
Shame earned 7 British Independent Film Awards nominations, with Michael Fassbender winning for Best Actor. It was also popular at the London Critics Circle Awards, earning 4 nominations, and was a 6-time nominee at the 2012 European Film Awards, with Joe Walker winning the European Editor award and Sean Bobbitt picking up the European Cinematographer trophy. JW
57. A Field in England (2013)
A group of deserters in the English Civil War are already under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms, including alchemist’s assistant Whitehead (Reece Shearsmith), when they are further beguiled by the dark magician O’Neill (Michael Smiley) and his mysterious but undoubtedly satanic purpose.
This psychedelic historical head trip defies conventional storytelling logic and thrives on ambiguity, the black-and-white nightmare visuals and oppressive soundscape leaving a lasting impression even if you’d be hard-pressed to recount exactly what is going on.
A Field in England received a decent number of awards nominations from UK publications and on the European festival circuit but only went on to win a Special Jury Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. SSP
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58. The Selfish Giant (2013)
Two working-class teenage friends in Bradford (Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas) find themselves skipping school and turning to metal scrapping at the behest of a shady dealer (Sean Gilder).
Equally influenced by 1960s kitchen-sink dramas, Dickens stories, and classic fables, Clio Barnard’s film is given life through the easy chemistry of its young none-professional leads and the often beautiful imagery that come at odds with with its grit and pathos.
The Selfish Giant won the Label Europa Cinemas award at Cannes, the Grand Prix at the Ghent International Film Festival and Best Technical Achievement at the BIFAs. SSP
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59. 12 Years a Slave (2014)
12 Years a Slave tells the true story of the suffering of African-American musician Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a man who was abducted and sold into slavery for over a decade.
This is a beautifully crafted film about an abhorrent subject; a piece of living, breathing and bleeding history. The sensitivity, starkness and respect with which director Steve McQueen approaches the material and the power of the performances, particularly the heartbreaking Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o and a terrifying Michael Fassbender, leave a mark on your very soul.
12 Years a Slave won 3 Oscars (Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay for John Ridley, and Supporting Actress for Nyong’o) as well as Leading Actor at the BAFTAs for Ejiofor. SSP
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60. Under the Skin (2014)
This small yet spectacular individual vision from English director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast; The Zone of Interest), set largely in the Scottish city of Glasgow and starring Scarlett Johansson, is an arthouse masterpiece; a brilliantly off-beat, tense and beautifully realised project.
Much of the film, which tells of… something driving a city’s streets in a white van, is anchored by candid footage recorded by secret cameras. Scarlett Johansson, in one of her career’s best portrayals, was sent out to interact with the public without their knowledge, and the result is an enticing and vitally real film punctuated by otherworldly segments akin to art installations. There are rich themes underpinning science fiction iconography in these moments, and their cinematic contrast to the more guerrilla-style filmmaking in the van ensure endless spectacle.
Under the Skin was the feature film debut of composer Micachu (aka Mica Levi), who offered one of the greatest pieces of film music in the 2010s and arguably revolutionised the film score in a wider context. Micachu was nominated for Original Music at the BAFTAs and the BIFAs, and won a European Film Award for European Composer. Under the Skin was also nominated for Best British Film at the BAFTAs, earned 4 nominations at the BIFAs, and was the British Film of the Year according to the London Critics Circle. JW
