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Comment RSSTop 10 British Films Of 2011
17.12.11 # Top Ten # 8 Comments5. Coriolanus
Director-star Ralph Fiennes shifted Shakespeare over to a still crater-pocked Serbia for this muscular, militaristic adaptation of one of the bard’s lesser-known works. Fiennes’ co-stars included such luminaries as Brian Cox and Vanessa Redgrave, although thespian dialogue was forced to compete for screen-time with the frenetic action.
4. Kill List
Like Mike Leigh directing The Wicker Man, this creepy tale of two hitmen caught up in an increasingly bloody and esoteric conspiracy was only let down by a cruddy ending.
3. Tyrannosaur
The first film directed by actor Paddy Considine, the distinctly dino-free Tyrannosaur started the year with success at Sundance and just kept on rolling, with it recently claiming top honours at the British Independent Film Awards. A bleak relationship drama, it stands as both a depressing and affecting behind-the-camera debut for Considine.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Barring an utterly unforeseen turn of events, the final Potter is likely to turn out to be 2011’s biggest film in terms of box office takings. And, like a once-controversial sportsman departing the stage at the twilight of his career, suddenly no critic had a bad word to say about HP now he was on his way out (and not a moment too soon ahead of Daniel Radcliffe finally completing his transformation into a werewolf).
1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brilliance, sheer acting brilliance from Gary Oldman as George Smiley, the deposed spymaster recalled in order to winkle out the mole threatening to fatally rupture MI6’s intelligence network. Indeed, this period adaptation of John le Carré’s espionage novel could boast excellent performances all round, as well as a peerlessly chilly sense of cold war atmospherics, courtesy of director Tomas Alfredson.
What do you wager were the best British films of 2011? Do leave your thoughts in the comments, there’s a good chap.
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Harry Potter Part 7 Part 2 is bad. Bad bad. Like, incoherent editing, poor framing, pure exposition for dialog … that kinda bad. No WAY it should place after Attack the Block, which is an almost perfect film.
Other than that, sounds like it’s been a damn great year for British filmmaking. Cheers! Can’t wait to see Tyrannosaur!
I could not stand Attack the Block. That film was one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen. Seriously, ever. A group of hateful chavs as likeable protagonists? No. Just no.
That said, I enjoyed Potter simply for managing a big, ballsy ending (unlike the novel) and Tinker Tailor was my personal film of the year. Good list. There’s a few I’ll have to check out.
Attack the Block is great. It got a lot of illiogical criticism from genre fans.
Films are full of bad guys turned good. Cowboy films are full of that kind of thing, most crime films are, a lot of action films are too.
The reason I think it caught so much flak was unfortunite timing, mingling with lots of unsavoury racism and class fears.
I agree with the comment about bad guys turning good in attack the block. IT happens in life, too. You get your truly evil people now and then, totally gone from normal behavior, but most people have a reason for being a thug, offender, thief, etc… that involves more than just themselves, especially when they are young. It’s not that easy to just be boyscout good when you’ve been confused, or your life doesn’t seem to matter much. Attack the block was well-made, period. Doesn’t have anything to do with who you think is good or bad, if those cut and dry categories even exist. “Tinker…” with Gary Oldman is next on my list, since Oldman seems to be incapable of a poor performance.
Sad that I’ve only seen 2 of the films on this list. Attack the Block was good but also slightly disappointing, I wanted more originality from Cornish. The other one was HP7.2 a great battle film but, again, disappointed that they seemed to rush through important deaths of main characters.
It does mean lots of good films to put on my DVD watch list for 2012! I’ve heard a lot of good things about Tyrannosaur & Kill List.
I am an American fan of many british shows, including Richard Ayoade’s work. So when you said that Submarine was a “knacker”, the only thing I got out of that was that you called that movie a butcher. Is that good or bad?
I think he’s calling it a lemon curd, mate.
Bloody hell…
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Post By Paul Martin
17th Dec
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