Top 10 British Films of the Decades

IGN just published this top and guess who came in first? I’ll let you guess.

10. Casino Royale (2006)
9. Snatch (2000)
8. Slumdog Millionaire (2009)
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
6. Dead Man’s Shoes (2004)
5. Layer Cake (2004)
4. 28 Days Later (2002)
3. Moon (2009)
2. Children of Men (2006)
1. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii SHAUN OF THE DEAD!!!

I’ll let my objective subjective – self take over from now on. I understand that this article was written by a human being and not a robot thus being influenced by the writer’s preferences.

Moreover, I understand that is difficult to put a label on a movie that says: “Yeap, this one’s a Brit one”. What makes a film a British one, a Czech one and so on? What do you take into consideration besides the (leading) actors? The fact that both the director and writer(s) of the script should have the same nationality, in our case British? The filming location? The novel on which it was based?

If we took into account the filming location, then Slumdog Millionaire shouldn’t have been on this list. As a matter of fact, I believe it shouldn’t be at all. I am not saying that it wasn’t a good movie, but one director (even though we are talking about Danny Boyle), one writer and one actor don’t compensate the lack of … Britishness.

Where is In the loop in this top? Or Hot Fuzz (I am very fond of this movie because I like it too damn much)? I was going to say where is Trainspotting, but I remembered it appeared in 1996 which is so not in this decade.

I’ve only seen half of the movies so I am not the who should criticise, but Children of men on #2? (shut up woman, just because you didn’t like it doesn’t mean that others share your opinion). I will try to redeem myself by watching some of the movies on this list: Moon (because I like Sam Rockwell), Snatch and Dead Man’s Shoes (just because Paddy Considine plays one of the characters 🙂 )

Later Edit: I went a little too overboard (ok, a lot). If I had checked IMDB more thoroughly I would have noticed the country of origin. I apologize for being a mindless moron (my vision was clouded by my personal preferences and my conceptions of what is British), but this doesn’t mean that I agree with this list.

PU-239

Or The Half Life of Timofei Berezin.

(Initially, I didn’t plan on seeing this movie. I just wanted to have some background noise, but I somehow got drawn by it, mostly because of the main character.)

Written and directed by Scott Z. Burns and based on Ken Kalfus’s short story, Pu-239 is about the human condition, the lengths to what a normal person would go to just so that he could ensure the future of his family. It had an interesting plot, believable characters (well, some of them) and some pretty good acting. It could have been a very good movie,  had it not been for some plot holes and the overacting of the “Mafia” (or what the hell are they called).

**spoilers**

Timofey Berezin (Paddy Considine) is just a technician who works at a nuclear power plant. A power plant so secret that is literally falling apart and the city in which it can be found is not even listed on the map. (I didn’t even know the state allowed the construction of a city near a nuclear facility or vice-versa, but let’s move on). However, when he tries to stop a malfunction, he is exposed to level of radiation well beyond hopes of survival – 1000 REMS of plutonium, a number even greater than the one from Hiroshima (as stated in the movie by one of the characters). The facility’s managers try to convince Timofey that his exposure reached a merely – 100 REMs, while accusing him of sabotage and suspending him without pay. Faced with his impending death and having no other income, he does what every man would do (or at least think of). Steal 100 grams of pure plutonium from the facility he used to work at and try to sell it on the black market.

However,  the movie doesn’t follow just Timofey’s life. It also follows the life of three thieves: Shiv(Oscar Isaac), Vlad(Jason Flemyng) and Yegor(Jordan Long). They have 72 hours to pay off their debt or risk losing their heads. Through some series of events, Shiv comes in contact with Timofey and finds a plan that will supposedly solve all their problems. They are both driven by the desire to provide a better life for their wives and children.

As for the characters and actors. Some of them did a pretty good job playing their roles, while others were too theatrical for a story as real as this one. I was amazed by Considine’s portrayal of the main character. So, even though Timofey tries to stay cold and distant, to a point where he even hides his emotions from his wife, you can understand his pain and desperation. Considine’s performance is touching, he manages to connect with his character, without going overboard.

On the other hand there are the mobsters: the three thieves and their boss. While the three ones are supposed to be playing just dumb and be some sort of comic relieves, their leader’s acting is so bad and so cinematic it just makes you cringe.

The monologues that are placed throughout the movie make it worth seeing. Being read by Paddy Considine, the main character, they just complete the movie, they add depth to the character’s emotions. They strike you unexpectedly, mixing science with feelings, and leave you thinking for a moment, only to come back more powerful.

If the story hadn’t took a wrong turn and tried to be some sort of tragicomedy, it would have been just fine. Perfect, I might add. Who knows, perhaps it would have won an award that had a little more recognition.

P.S.: I was in a hurry when I posted this article. As a result, I have left out many details and ideas.