Top 10 British Gangster/Underworld Films (and a bit on Bob Hoskins)

Just before this list, thought I'd talk about the late, great Bob Hoskins and how he influenced the whole British gangster genre so strongly. I haven't actually seen all his performances in this vein, but the two most prominent ones, The Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa, are two of the great performances of the 80s, and two of the greatest portrayals of criminals of all-time. I'll write a long, extended article on him soon enough, but as a rather domineering powerful crime boss and an insignificant little henchman, he's utterly convicning as both. There's a reason he was perhaps the go-to tough guy in the 80s despite his diminutive stature; he's as perfect at playing the criminal as he is as the likable endearing hero in stuff like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and gosh, some of his emotional reactions in both of these films, like his reactions to his close friend's death and his final scene in The Long Good Friday and his reactions to Simone's outburst at him in Mona Lisa, are some of the best silent acting ever.

Hon. Mention: Snatch

I don't love this film as much as some do, but I can't deny it's definitely a fun gangster film. More refined than Lock,Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and largely resisting the excesses of some of Guy Ritchie's later work, I'd say this is the best realisation of Ritchie's particular sort of dynamic, robust, never-stop-talking style of cinema. I wouldn't say there's much of a plot to it; but it does have Brad Pitt as the most incoherent Irish travelling boxer ever. I'd say this is a film to experience more than think about too deeply, it's a fun ride and if doesn't all make much sense, not to worry.

10. The Escapist

More of a prison film than crime film, I guess, but it does deal with the British underworld elements quite a bit, especially in the form of Rizza (a terrifying Damian Lewis) who rules over the prison with an iron, vehement fist. Led by an invested Brian Cox, a gang of inmates devise a plan to get out of jail, fast. The film is kind of standard in terms of plot, but what sets it apart from other similar films is Rupert Wyatt's atmospheric, restrained direction, and its watertight ensemble featuring everyone from Joseph Fiennes (surprisingly believable thuggish thief), Liam Cunningham (doing what he does best as the wise moral support), Seu Jorge (the quirky prison chemist), Dominic Cooper (the young upstart) and of course Lewis and Cox, two of the most underrated British actors working today.

9. Sexy Beast

Another film that's a bit overrated, but look past the hype and you'll find an actually rather good little gem of a British thriller lurking underneath. Ben Kingsley is pretty unforgettable as Don Logan, even if some of the viscreal effect might indeed come from the fact it's Ghandi the Gangster. There's a lot to the film besides just his performance though; it has rather luscious cinematography and direction (courtesy of music video director Jonathan Glazer), particularly at the lavish Spanish villa of Gal (Ray Winstone), and its third act heist is actually rather exciting. The script is laced with profanities, violence and political incorrectness, all with a rather lighthearted vibe; it's not a great gangster film, but it's certainly a very good one.

8. Layer Cake

A Guy Ritchie-esque gangster film that I actually like a more than any of the actual Guy Ritchie films, this was one of Daniel Craig's first proper leading roles which helped set him up to play Bond. Craig is rather terrific as 'XXXX', an unnamed cocaine dealer who makes his way through a series of much bigger crimes than he's accustomed to involving all manner of shady sorts, including a particularly sexy Sienna Miller, good-natured but deadly crime bosses Michael Gambon and Colm Meaney, a whole host of British character actors as lowlife criminals and even Ben Whishaw and Tom Hardy in small roles thrown into the mix. The film is as stylish, cool, suave and sexy as films of this sort come along; there's very little in the way of a message or moralitiees, but like Snatch it's a wickedly fun ride, even more so. Plus, the editing is fantastic.

7. The Long Good Friday

A mostly rather good, if occasionally a bit standard, crime thriller which has some great aspects, namely its lead performance, and the no-holes barred, gritty approach it takes on the violent, unsparing British underworld. The film is rather terrific in slowly transitioning from a rather casual, easygoing, lighthearted look at a rather amusingly prim and proper gangster Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) looking to legitamize his gang empire, into a gradually escalating levels of violence and threats against Harold that gradually bring out the ugly 'criminal' side to him. I won't say the film is flawless on all fronts, some of the plot developments and side characters are a bit routine, but the cinematography and framing of violence is unforgettable, the building of tension is fantastic, the criminal boss' wife (played by an excellent Helen Mirren) is actually given some development, and the ending is an absolute corker.

6. Eastern Promises

One of David Cronenberg's best films, the film is perhaps best known for a long, extended sequence where a tatted up Viggo Mortensen fights off a bunch of assailants naked in a public bath. There's more than just that sequence to the film - although if that's what you're here for, you get your money's worth. The film is a rather small-scale and intimate look into the Russian underworld in London, from the viewpoint of British nurse Anna (Naomi Watts), and their handling of the death of a teenage prostitute who could possibly implicate them in their drug smuggling, sex traffiking ring. The film is rather violent, cynical and quite dark, though there's also a hint of idealism and sensitivity at its core to the relationship between Anna and Mortensen's Nikolai. Some of the Russian accents (except Mortensen's which is pitch-perfect) are a bit iffy and the runtime is a bit short, but largely this is a rather harrowing and effective look into the grimiest, darkest criminal life.

5. The Hit

John Hurt, Terrence Stamp, Tim Roth. All as gangsters - a cold, hardened and remorseless hitman, the soulful, philisophical 'snitch' he's been hired to assasinate, and the hot-blooded upstart he recruits to help him, respectively. Sold? The film is an atmospheric trip through Madrid, where not a lot of actual killing takes place, and mostly focuses on the dynamic between these three very different breeds of criminal. The relationship between them is terrifically drawn through rather snappy, often lyrical dialogue that sticks in your mind, and despite being a 'slow-burn' thriller you'll be kept thrilled throughout. Plus, any film that has one of its gangster quoting John Donne has to be something special.

4. Dirty Pretty Things

Not really a 'gangster' film so to speak, but a rather fantastic little British film that became a bit of a sleeper hit on the awards circuit, garnering an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay by Steven Knight (the creator of Peaky Blinders). Chiwetel Ejiofor and Audrey Tautou (coming straight off the success of Amelie and delivering an, in my opinion, far more impressive performance here) lead the way as two immigrants in London struggling to make ends meet at dead-end jobs, and coming into contact with the very seedy underworld of organ trading. The film is low-key and understated in the best possible way; unlike many films of this sort, the stylized dialogue between its characters are so naturalistic and actually give a lot of insight into the particular time and place it's set in. In particular, there's some lovely little comedic gem scenes between Ejiofor's Senay and his Chinese herbalist/doctor buddy played by Benedict Wong, and some chilling scenes involving Senay's confrontations with the shady side of the hotel he works in. The slow-moving nature of the film might not be for everyone, but I love it personally.

3. Mona Lisa

Again, another great Bob Hoskins performance in another great Neil Jordan movie, I can also see why many might not take to this film as it's a crime film based around a character who's barely a criminal really; despite having recently gotten out of jail, low-level criminal George is like Fergus in The Crying Game, a man going through the motions of a criminal existence because it's the only way of life he's ever known. The exploration of a crook who'd normally be the expendable henchman in a crime film of this sort, to ultiamtely be a kind and genuine, if troubled man at heart, is fantastic as we see how his relationship with an escort (Cathy Tyson) gradually develops his character; each uplifting, chilling and heartbreaking moment is dealt with beautifully by Jordan's knack for nailing small human interactions (he was kind of the Jeff Nichols of the 80s and 90s, in many ways).  Featuring some of the best acting and screenwriting in recent memory, and a fascinating against-type turn by Michael Caine as a brutal gangster, this is a gangster film well worth watching.

2. Get Carter

Speaking of against-type Michael Caine, ever fancied seeing ol' Afred/Alfie brutally rough up some fellow crooks? Look no further than the seminal classic British gangster film Get Carter, featuring an utterly brilliant Caine as Jack Carter, a gangster on a path of vengeance to look for the murderer of his brother, and delving into the seedy underworld of Newcastle - it's a terrifically realized world and despite the film's scope being small, it feels like such a complete universe in itself. There's an edge of 'coolness' to the film which is undeniable through Caine's performance and the stylized cinematography, but the tightknit and rather brilliant screenplay immediately shatters any ideas that this will be a routine 'crime is cool' film. The seedy world Carter enters is ugly and unsparing, and Caine's performance and Mike Hodge's direction excellently handle this all towards a deeply troubling and great conclusion.

1. Brighton Rock

A film based on one of my favourite novels by my favourite novelist of all-time, that more than merely doing it justice, somehow manages to also stand on its own as a great gangster film. Violent teenaged gang leader Pinkie Brown is probably the greatest gangster character in fictional history and Richard Attenborough, in his first prominent film role, absolutely kills it as the cold, remorseless and utterly inhuman figure we are so repulsed and terrified, yet utterly absorbed with. The film stands as one of the great examples of working alongside the censorship of the time, as elements of violence and its Christian themes (especially its ending) deemed to dark in the source novella are converted to equally brilliant setpieces here; you'll never forget the death scene of Fred Hale in the Tunnel of Love even though it was technically 'limited' by the censorships, or the unforgettable ending even though it's entirely changed from Graham Greene's original one. The film parallels the enjoyable, comedic investigation of Hermione Baddeley's Ida Arnold into Pinkie's life, and Pinkie's own twisted 'romance' of sorts with a waitress he fears will implicate him in one of his murder's the resulting product is a deeply powerful and rather unsettling tale of immorality and sin, that uses the setting of Brighton beautifully and turns a small story into one with a big, big impact.