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.
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Epinions.com ID:
emperor69
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Location: Australia
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I like movies. How I wish I could do nothing but watch and review them.
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