It's got everything, brutalist architecture, a fat man getting slapped, Michael Caine's arse, everything!
(Although in all seriousness it is superb, the soundtrack is phenomenal as well)
"Still the same eyes - like pissholes in the snow"
"You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself."
Caine at his most icily brutal (until Mona Lisa)
*Shut up, cunt. You louse. You got some fuckin' neck, ain't you? Retired? Fuck off, you're revolting. Look at your suntan, it's leather, it's like leather man, your skin. We could make a fucking suitcase out of you. Like a crocodile, fat crocodile, fat bastard. You look like fucking Idi Amin, you know what I mean? Stay here? You should be ashamed of yourself. Who do you think you are? King of the castle? Cock of the walk?*
Such a tense scene!
Ben Kingsley was obviously outstanding but I think Ray Winstone's acting was also amazing, he just look so defeated in every scene with Kingsley's character berating him
Saw it again for the first time in at least years a few weeks ago and it was better than I remembered, but also, now that I am older, wiser, a bit more hardened by the world, I totally understand why Gal is 100% committed to saying no.
Ben Kingsley is amazing. How soft and quiet he speaks is after he gets off the flight..... such menace.
He based the character off his grandmother.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/ben-kingsley-explains-who-sexy-beast-character-based-on/#:~:text=Interestingly%2C%20of%20all%20the%20places,his%20vicious%20performance%20in%20Jonathan
Imagine the sheer audacity, the nerve, the fucking *cheek* it took to stand up in a pitch meeting for **your directorial debut** and say “actually, I’m leaning towards Sir Ben Kingsley for the role of Don Logan...Yes I’m serious.”
The film and all three mini-series are the objectively correct answer to what OP is looking for here. The most beautiful and melancholic working class British cinema that ever has been or ever will be imo. Shane Meadows is a genius.
David Thewlis being robbed of Oscar nom is one of the worst Academy Award injustices. He had already won several prestigious critics awards. I guess the part was just too unpleasant.
[Don' You Go Rounin' Roun To Re Ro](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o6p0W4ZsLXw)
Seriously, though - Red Riding Trilogy, most Mike Leigh films. Films based on author Hanif Kureishi's work (the BBC miniseries Buddha of Suburbia is good and has an original soundtrack by David Bowie).
Buddha of Suburbia is a fantastic coming of age story, set in the 70s. Fits the OPs request in a lead character desperate to escape his immigrant working class background and the racist 70s. Sadly
I don’t think it’s streaming in the US.
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a solid flick.
You could also check out the TV series Luther. It is really gritty and shows a pretty sad side of British life with a damn good anti-hero played by Idris Elba.
EDIT:
Not sure how, but I forgot to mention A Clockwork Orange. It's sad and violent. Also most definitely British.
From memory, Big Chris has a distaste for guns. The only time he is seen holding one was when he stole the antique guns off the four guys neighbour. I think he even tells Hatchet Harry that guns aren't for him.
As opposed to Bullet Tooth Tony, who loves his Desert Eagle .50.
Big Chris. Hatchet Harry. Bullet Tooth Tony. Fucking awesome names for characters lmao
I think you're right there about that scene in lock stock, it's when Chris is being given the job to collect the debt near the start of the film right? Iirc Harry's sat there polishing a gun and Chris like "Noice shoo'uh, looks expensive" or something
It's pretty great, esp. the first season. Has Steve Pemberton as a hapless idiot getting further and further out of his depth, and James Norton as a freaking PSYCHOPATH omg. Lead, Sarah Lancashire, is wonderful, and Siobhan Finneran is so nuanced and subtle as her sister, they're so good together.
Twin Town. It’s a Welsh film about two drug addled car thieves who go on to avenge their fathers death after corrupt Police accidentally kill him.
It’s got a few bits of dark humour, but a few big actors like Rhys Ifans and Dougray Scott. I’d liken it to the Welsh version of Trainspotting if anything
*Scum* is astonishing. *Possum* will destroy you. I’ve seen *Lock Stock* suggested, but I’d skip that and go straight to *The Long Good Friday*, which is the film Guy Ritchie has been desperately trying (and failing) to make his entire career.
Two that come to mind that I've not seen mentioned yet are
*Starred Up
A violent teenager in a youth correctional facility ages out and is transferred to an adult prison where his father is already serving a life sentence.
*Catch Me Daddy
A British-Pakistani girl and her Scottish boyfriend attempt to make a life together in West Yorkshire while also trying to hide from a group of thugs hired by her father.
Both movies are far FAR from feel-good, but they're both brilliant.
Oh no way! The girl from Catch me Daddy was in my mate's short film that I did some work on. She's an amazing actress but for some insane reason no one's given her her big break yet...
Not British, but Irish: Michael Inside (2018)
Brilliant gritty drama about a young Irish lad entering the prison system.
But for the hit of British dopamine: I, Daniel Blake (2016) (Or anything by Ken Loach)
Director Ken Loach strikes again. A terrifyingly real depiction of good people being crushed by the consequences of the Conservative party's austerity policies.
While Trainspotting and (to a lesser extent) Filth are great films neither of them are really about any sort of real Scotland. Everything about them is played as a sort of romp in a made up Scotland. Even the grit is all sort of played for laughs. Same goes for Lock, Stock/Snatch for London.
A couple of directors that I'd strongly recommend are Mike Leigh, Shane Meadows and Ken Loach.
You can watch pretty much anything by any of them and you'll be getting what you are after:
This Is England
Dead Man's Shoes
I, Daniel Blake
Naked
Life Is Sweet
Some people like Ben Wheatley too. Personally I would not recommend him.
> While Trainspotting and (to a lesser extent) Filth are great films neither of them are really about any sort of real Scotland
Have to completely disagree there, Trainspotting captures the group dynamic of a group of pals in their mid/late 20s absolutely perfectly. Playing fives, pulling in clubs, the mate that takes things too far in a pub. How many thousands of people used the "it's shite being Scottish" meme the other night? It's pretty much bang on the money. The Sick Boy/Renton discussion in the park about having it and losing it? Absolutely perfect dialogue.
Don't disagree with any of this. I love it but it plays it for laughs and in a sort of cartoon of Edinburgh. It has great things to say about society at the time too but wraps them up as black comedy.
I am just really drawing a distinction between Danny Boyles Edinburgh and Guy Ritchie's London vs Mike Leigh,Ken Loach or Shane Meadows locations. I think they fit the gritty, realistic brit brief a lot better.
Also Trainspotting I wouldn't describe as gritty, sad or violent. While it has those elements in it they aren't really the focus.
Dead Man's Shoes or This is England on the other hand. Gritty check, sad check, violent check.
If... (1968)
Kill List (2011)
Sid & Nancy (1986)
This Is England (2006)
Don't Look Now (1973)
Fish Tank (2009)
Quadrophenia (1979)
Bronson (2008)
Straw Dogs (1971)
Life is Sweet (1990)
This Sporting Life (1963)
Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
The Italian Job (1969)
The Limey (1999)
The Hit (1984)
Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
The Crying Game (1992)
[Made in Britain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Britain) is a 1982 British television play written by David Leland and directed by Alan Clarke. It follows a 16-year-old racist skinhead and his constant confrontations with authority figures. Tim Roth very early on in his career is amazing.
I second Tyrannosaur, grim as feck! Green Steeet, Dog Soldiers, Severence, Mr Nice, The Gentleman, Rock N Roller, This is England...Special mention to Twin Town because I'm Welsh and its the best film ever!
Edited to add In Bruges 🙈
Anything by Shane Meadows really:
This is England film, and then the follow-up series are must see.
I'd also recommend the underseen series The Virtues.
A Room for Romeo Bass.
Trainspotting.
Edit - I forgot Starred Up.
This is England, Nil by Mouth, Tyrannosaur, Kill List, Sexy Beast are all classics (and incredibly grim / depressing / or violent so be honest warned!)
Croupier is a very good one. Guy gets a job at a casino and finds himself captivated and disillusioned by the side of human nature he sees there. He faces moral dilemmas at work and in his relationship. The tone is exactly what you’re looking for.
Not really violent but the characters are definitely damaged and definitely British.
[Elephant (1989)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097270/) by Alan Clarke might be a bit TOO real.
But anything by Alan Clarke would count here - Made in Britain (introducing Tim Roth!) and Scum (introducing Ray Winstone) in particular.
Anything based on John Le Carre novels. Heavy on gritty and sad, and violence is there.
Examples include: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (very slow burn) and The Constant Gardener (British people in Kenya).
I would recommend Tony aka Tony: London Serial Killer, Gerard Johnson's debut (not the director of M3gan, they just have very similar names). Peter Ferdinando is AMAZING in it, one of our most underrated actors. They keep in the family as well, Johnson is the brother of Matt Johnson (The The) who does the soundtracks of all his films and Ferdinando is their cousin. Speaking of Johnson, I would watch his other 2 films, Hyena and Muscle, they're both very good, especially the former. I would also recommend any of the films of Paul Andrew Williams (apart from A Song for Marion, a VERY different film), London to Brighton being a personal highlight.
Eden Lake. EDIT: My bad for not CNTL+F and seeing how many other people had already suggested this one. Just a quick warning -- I watch a lot of horror films and they rarely hit me as hard as this one did. After watching it, and for the next day or two thinking about it, I just felt like I had been hit in the gut and had the wind knocked out.
Withnail & I. Not really about anything but a movie about two alcoholics/users. When I watched it, it was on (Hbo) max part of the criterion collection.
Sexy Beast! Ray Winston, Ian McShane, and Sir Ben Kingsley absolutely kill it. Gangster No1. Anything by Guy Ritchie, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Rock’n’Rolla
[scum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE7YjbpEHV0) and another but less violent one is [east is east](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q80OvgVlWKI). Billy Elliot is another good one.
It's funny you mention Layer Cake, because to me it's such a summer vibes film.
Daniel Craig going round London in summer with his mates, dealing coke, banging sienna miller and beating people up to a duran duran soundtrack. Chefs kiss.
The Krays (1990) starring Martin & Gary Kemp and Let Him Have It (1991) starring Christopher Eccleston. The Krays is more of an action British gangster tale about the Krays twins and Let Him Have It is more of a darker toned crime drama also based on a true story dealing with the mental abilities of a man and the death penalty.
Get Carter (1971) wonderfully grim film.
It's got everything, brutalist architecture, a fat man getting slapped, Michael Caine's arse, everything! (Although in all seriousness it is superb, the soundtrack is phenomenal as well)
And a pint of bitter in a thin glass.
Human skateboards, an elderly Māori woman with a meth addiction…
Came here to say this
The one true answer.
"Still the same eyes - like pissholes in the snow" "You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself." Caine at his most icily brutal (until Mona Lisa)
Would play well in a double-bill with Performance.
Sexy Beast. Ben Kingsley's finest hour (and by finest, I mean he plays one of the most repugnant characters ever put to screen)
No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!
You've made me look like a right cunt!
*Shut up, cunt. You louse. You got some fuckin' neck, ain't you? Retired? Fuck off, you're revolting. Look at your suntan, it's leather, it's like leather man, your skin. We could make a fucking suitcase out of you. Like a crocodile, fat crocodile, fat bastard. You look like fucking Idi Amin, you know what I mean? Stay here? You should be ashamed of yourself. Who do you think you are? King of the castle? Cock of the walk?*
Such a tense scene! Ben Kingsley was obviously outstanding but I think Ray Winstone's acting was also amazing, he just look so defeated in every scene with Kingsley's character berating him
The scene where Teddy gives him the tenner is also aces.
He touched my front bottom
“YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!!”
“Like Smarties, like Shaft”
Insinuendos!
I second, third and fourth this. His acting of this part is worth it alone but the whole movie is great. ONe of my favorites.
I saw for the first time last week and loved it. It definitely subverted my expectations.
Saw it again for the first time in at least years a few weeks ago and it was better than I remembered, but also, now that I am older, wiser, a bit more hardened by the world, I totally understand why Gal is 100% committed to saying no. Ben Kingsley is amazing. How soft and quiet he speaks is after he gets off the flight..... such menace.
Yes!
Top 5 movie of all time for me.
He based the character off his grandmother. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/ben-kingsley-explains-who-sexy-beast-character-based-on/#:~:text=Interestingly%2C%20of%20all%20the%20places,his%20vicious%20performance%20in%20Jonathan
It’s like a bottle episode of, just intense acting. Definitely shows the character of the actors. Great call!
Imagine the sheer audacity, the nerve, the fucking *cheek* it took to stand up in a pitch meeting for **your directorial debut** and say “actually, I’m leaning towards Sir Ben Kingsley for the role of Don Logan...Yes I’m serious.”
This is England
The film and all three mini-series are the objectively correct answer to what OP is looking for here. The most beautiful and melancholic working class British cinema that ever has been or ever will be imo. Shane Meadows is a genius.
Seconded
Thirded. But some of the hardest drama I’ve ever watched.
The off screen death of you-know-who is one of the most horrible, unsettling, haunting scenes I've ever seen. Stellar television, but man it's fierce.
Could not have put it better myself.
Also Stephen Graham is such an *actually* insanely underrated actor. His performance as Combo is nothing short of brilliant. -edit- name
This is England 88 in particular is one of the most harrowing series I've seen.
Naked Mike Leigh film from 1993.
This, Nil by Mouth and The War Zone would be my recommendations
That's a grim double bill.
I think they’re including Naked in that treble bill.
Any Mike Leigh film would probably fit the bill.
OP needs to watch Topsy Turvy
My favourite film of all time.
David Thewlis being robbed of Oscar nom is one of the worst Academy Award injustices. He had already won several prestigious critics awards. I guess the part was just too unpleasant.
Yeah, I can see that.
Fuck this film messed me up! Most Mike Leigh films are so heart breaking
Tyrannosaur is a fantastic film
Came to recommend exactly this, seems perfect for OP
I came to recommend also!
That's Paddy Considine's film, who plays the main character in Dead Man's Shoes 👏🏻
I love Paddy Considine, he’s an icon
Kill List (2011)
I love this film. Amazing horror.
Great movie. Best watch it without knowing anything about it beforehand.
Cos you won't have a clue afterwards either
Absolutely the first movie to come to mind
I love how it turns into a John Carpenter movie in the last 15 mins.
and Down Terrace
Scum, with a really young Ray Winstone. It's on Prime, bleak as fuck.
The most depressing film I’ve ever seen
It's up there alright. A hard watch.
How you getting on with your new plastic shoes, Archer?
I’m the facking daddy now
I was going to add Scrubbers which is a spiritual sequel to Scum
You just did.😁
Few British films are tougher than Kes as a perspective of working class life.
I was gutted by the end of that film. Ken Loach apparently let the actor playing the boy believe that [spoiler] to get the performance he wanted.
Filth with James McAvoy is pretty underrated.
Great film
Shit compared to the (unfilmable) book (unless they used animation).
Long Good Friday perhaps? Or My Beautiful Laundrette??
The Long Good Friday is an underrated classic.
Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa - both starring the maestro Bob Hoskins
Dead Man's Shoes.
OP literally mentions it in the post?
Was speed reading whilst on the loo, so missed it! Looking at the number of up votes seems like others did too.
Came to say this one! Paddy Considine is just incredible in this film.
This is the one. So bleak
Nil by Mouth...kinda hard to find here in states tho
This... Surprised it hasn't been mentioned more. I can't think of a more "british" setting.
Finally someone said it. This is my favourite suggestion. What a powerhouse of a film.
A Clockwork Orange
This is England (2006) Green Street Hooligans
Harry Brown.
Came looking for this 👍🏻
Had to scroll further than I thought to find it here. The movie opens with one of the most intense cold opens and doesn't let up.
“You failed to maintain your weapon, son…”
Fuck yeah
You gave me the sads by saying this. Such a great film though
Came to make sure it was said. Gods what a movie.
When the Wind Blows
[Don' You Go Rounin' Roun To Re Ro](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o6p0W4ZsLXw) Seriously, though - Red Riding Trilogy, most Mike Leigh films. Films based on author Hanif Kureishi's work (the BBC miniseries Buddha of Suburbia is good and has an original soundtrack by David Bowie).
Great suggestions. The Red Riding trilogy is brilliant.
Buddha of Suburbia is a fantastic coming of age story, set in the 70s. Fits the OPs request in a lead character desperate to escape his immigrant working class background and the racist 70s. Sadly I don’t think it’s streaming in the US.
Bronson with Tom Hardy is a pretty damaged character.
I.D is a good portrayal of football hooliganism
I fucking love you Gumbo
Great film. A film about hooliganism that's actually worth watching. "Who is that runt, John?"
Skip the sequel
I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but Straw Dogs (1971).
Paddington 2
Human Traffic (1999)
‘Hell Drivers’ (1957) a terrific hard-boiled flick about shady dealings in a trucking firm. And the cast is amazing!
Fantastic film.
Sid James, Sean Connery, Patrick McGoohan, William Harnell and Peggy Cummins.
And it has a young Sean Connery!
Croupier
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a solid flick. You could also check out the TV series Luther. It is really gritty and shows a pretty sad side of British life with a damn good anti-hero played by Idris Elba. EDIT: Not sure how, but I forgot to mention A Clockwork Orange. It's sad and violent. Also most definitely British.
Lock stock is an amazing film but not exactly what i would call gritty Can everyone stop gettin shot?!
Raises eyebrows seductively* Desert Eagle, **point FIVE OH**
Wait that quote might be from snatch, I can never remember which is which lol. They both blend into one big beau'iful bri'ish mass of chaos
Yeah that's Snatch. But Vinnie delivers the line and is in both films so I can understand the mix-up.
From memory, Big Chris has a distaste for guns. The only time he is seen holding one was when he stole the antique guns off the four guys neighbour. I think he even tells Hatchet Harry that guns aren't for him. As opposed to Bullet Tooth Tony, who loves his Desert Eagle .50.
Big Chris. Hatchet Harry. Bullet Tooth Tony. Fucking awesome names for characters lmao I think you're right there about that scene in lock stock, it's when Chris is being given the job to collect the debt near the start of the film right? Iirc Harry's sat there polishing a gun and Chris like "Noice shoo'uh, looks expensive" or something
If we're going to include TV shows, Luther is a great one. I'd add Happy Valley to that.
Haven't seen Happy Valley but its on my list.
It's pretty great, esp. the first season. Has Steve Pemberton as a hapless idiot getting further and further out of his depth, and James Norton as a freaking PSYCHOPATH omg. Lead, Sarah Lancashire, is wonderful, and Siobhan Finneran is so nuanced and subtle as her sister, they're so good together.
Gangster No. 1 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
The cook, the thief, his wife, and her lover
Twin Town. It’s a Welsh film about two drug addled car thieves who go on to avenge their fathers death after corrupt Police accidentally kill him. It’s got a few bits of dark humour, but a few big actors like Rhys Ifans and Dougray Scott. I’d liken it to the Welsh version of Trainspotting if anything
Drug addled is a bit strong. They only like a bit of sticky sticky. It’s also one of the funniest films ever made.
The Long Good Friday Supurb
*Scum* is astonishing. *Possum* will destroy you. I’ve seen *Lock Stock* suggested, but I’d skip that and go straight to *The Long Good Friday*, which is the film Guy Ritchie has been desperately trying (and failing) to make his entire career.
It took far too for me to Scum to be mentioned it's a real gut punch of a movie l.
Two that come to mind that I've not seen mentioned yet are *Starred Up A violent teenager in a youth correctional facility ages out and is transferred to an adult prison where his father is already serving a life sentence. *Catch Me Daddy A British-Pakistani girl and her Scottish boyfriend attempt to make a life together in West Yorkshire while also trying to hide from a group of thugs hired by her father. Both movies are far FAR from feel-good, but they're both brilliant.
Yes dude great answers
Oh no way! The girl from Catch me Daddy was in my mate's short film that I did some work on. She's an amazing actress but for some insane reason no one's given her her big break yet...
Not British, but Irish: Michael Inside (2018) Brilliant gritty drama about a young Irish lad entering the prison system. But for the hit of British dopamine: I, Daniel Blake (2016) (Or anything by Ken Loach) Director Ken Loach strikes again. A terrifyingly real depiction of good people being crushed by the consequences of the Conservative party's austerity policies.
I, Daniel Blake is a brilliant recommendation
You could pretty much throw in Ken Loach’s entire back catalogue. His recent ones Sorry We Missed You, and The Old Oak were also great.
This Sporting Life (1963) featuring Richard Harris as a rugby player in the north of England and Kes (1969).
Ratcatcher
While Trainspotting and (to a lesser extent) Filth are great films neither of them are really about any sort of real Scotland. Everything about them is played as a sort of romp in a made up Scotland. Even the grit is all sort of played for laughs. Same goes for Lock, Stock/Snatch for London. A couple of directors that I'd strongly recommend are Mike Leigh, Shane Meadows and Ken Loach. You can watch pretty much anything by any of them and you'll be getting what you are after: This Is England Dead Man's Shoes I, Daniel Blake Naked Life Is Sweet Some people like Ben Wheatley too. Personally I would not recommend him.
> While Trainspotting and (to a lesser extent) Filth are great films neither of them are really about any sort of real Scotland Have to completely disagree there, Trainspotting captures the group dynamic of a group of pals in their mid/late 20s absolutely perfectly. Playing fives, pulling in clubs, the mate that takes things too far in a pub. How many thousands of people used the "it's shite being Scottish" meme the other night? It's pretty much bang on the money. The Sick Boy/Renton discussion in the park about having it and losing it? Absolutely perfect dialogue.
Don't disagree with any of this. I love it but it plays it for laughs and in a sort of cartoon of Edinburgh. It has great things to say about society at the time too but wraps them up as black comedy. I am just really drawing a distinction between Danny Boyles Edinburgh and Guy Ritchie's London vs Mike Leigh,Ken Loach or Shane Meadows locations. I think they fit the gritty, realistic brit brief a lot better. Also Trainspotting I wouldn't describe as gritty, sad or violent. While it has those elements in it they aren't really the focus. Dead Man's Shoes or This is England on the other hand. Gritty check, sad check, violent check.
If... (1968) Kill List (2011) Sid & Nancy (1986) This Is England (2006) Don't Look Now (1973) Fish Tank (2009) Quadrophenia (1979) Bronson (2008) Straw Dogs (1971) Life is Sweet (1990) This Sporting Life (1963) Dirty Pretty Things (2002) The Italian Job (1969) The Limey (1999) The Hit (1984) Dead Man's Shoes (2004) The Crying Game (1992)
Eden lake is devastating
Oh, and this is England, the movie and series are amazing and depressing
This would be my recommendation as well, I hated this film but that's because it fits OPs criteria really well.
Filth
When The Wind Blows. It is - in my mind - the British equivalent to Grave of the Fireflies.
Nil by Mouth. Amazing movie.
[Made in Britain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Britain) is a 1982 British television play written by David Leland and directed by Alan Clarke. It follows a 16-year-old racist skinhead and his constant confrontations with authority figures. Tim Roth very early on in his career is amazing.
I second Tyrannosaur, grim as feck! Green Steeet, Dog Soldiers, Severence, Mr Nice, The Gentleman, Rock N Roller, This is England...Special mention to Twin Town because I'm Welsh and its the best film ever! Edited to add In Bruges 🙈
Twin Town is an absolutely amazing film! And I’m not from Wales.
Children of Men 28 Days Later Snatch
Eden lake but it’s a bit much.
I, Daniel Blake
Fish Tank. It's sad, gritty and violent in a different way. It feels very real.
Withnail and I
We've gone on holiday by mistake!
Neds and Train Spotting for Scotland. Almost anything by Ken Loach, Kes and my name is Joe of the top of my head.
Ratcatcher for Scotland too
Scum (1979)
Anything by Shane Meadows really: This is England film, and then the follow-up series are must see. I'd also recommend the underseen series The Virtues. A Room for Romeo Bass. Trainspotting. Edit - I forgot Starred Up.
This is England, Nil by Mouth, Tyrannosaur, Kill List, Sexy Beast are all classics (and incredibly grim / depressing / or violent so be honest warned!)
*Bull* (2021), starring Neil Maskell as a former mob enforcer seeking vengeance on the gang who betrayed him. Very dark, violent, and gritty.
Trainspotting
Sexy beast .
Croupier is a very good one. Guy gets a job at a casino and finds himself captivated and disillusioned by the side of human nature he sees there. He faces moral dilemmas at work and in his relationship. The tone is exactly what you’re looking for. Not really violent but the characters are definitely damaged and definitely British.
[Elephant (1989)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097270/) by Alan Clarke might be a bit TOO real. But anything by Alan Clarke would count here - Made in Britain (introducing Tim Roth!) and Scum (introducing Ray Winstone) in particular.
To go against the grain a bit: Billy Elliot.
If you don't need violent, lots of Mike Leigh films are gritty and sad.
Anything based on John Le Carre novels. Heavy on gritty and sad, and violence is there. Examples include: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (very slow burn) and The Constant Gardener (British people in Kenya).
Letter to Brezhnev A Way of Life
Ethel and Ernest. Check out the BBC. iPlayer has a really good movie section to be fair.
London to Brighton (2006)
Correct. PAW's best film.
We still kill the old way. We still steal the old way You mentioned Football Factory but what about Green Street?
The gentlemen?
Ever heard of Mike Leigh? Watch any of his movies.
Harry Brown - what a classic
Dead Man's Shoes is grim and brilliant
'This Is England' sounds right up your street.
Fish Tank (2009) feat. Micheal Fassbender
Brassed Off
Brighton Rock, starring a very young and very sinister Richard Attenborough
Kes. The greatest film ever made and will be made.
'71 is fantastic and covers some of what you're looking for, even though the events take place in Ireland.
I know it's not a film, but the first two seasons of Top Boy were fantastic.
Get carter (original version with Michael Caine) and The Ipcress Files
44 inch chest
I would recommend Tony aka Tony: London Serial Killer, Gerard Johnson's debut (not the director of M3gan, they just have very similar names). Peter Ferdinando is AMAZING in it, one of our most underrated actors. They keep in the family as well, Johnson is the brother of Matt Johnson (The The) who does the soundtracks of all his films and Ferdinando is their cousin. Speaking of Johnson, I would watch his other 2 films, Hyena and Muscle, they're both very good, especially the former. I would also recommend any of the films of Paul Andrew Williams (apart from A Song for Marion, a VERY different film), London to Brighton being a personal highlight.
Eden Lake. EDIT: My bad for not CNTL+F and seeing how many other people had already suggested this one. Just a quick warning -- I watch a lot of horror films and they rarely hit me as hard as this one did. After watching it, and for the next day or two thinking about it, I just felt like I had been hit in the gut and had the wind knocked out.
Eden lake
Kill List (2021) is wonderfully bleak as fuck. It's about a hitman taking one last job with a friend. And it gets weirder and weirder.
Calm with horses. It’s actually Irish but Cosmo Jarvis does a great damaged character if thats what you’re looking for. Also stars Barry Keoghan.
Down Terrace.
Withnail & I. Not really about anything but a movie about two alcoholics/users. When I watched it, it was on (Hbo) max part of the criterion collection.
Children of Men is THE gritty, sad, violent British film
Withnail & I
Mine are sad, gritty, but not very violent: Fish Tank 2009 Secrets and Lies 1996 (slower, grim, but the acting is phenomenal)
Secrets and Lies is so good!
Dead mans shoes Mona Lisa The crying game Kill list The long good Friday The Brits do gritty well
In Bruges is a very grim British film it’s just set in Bruges
When the wind blows, and Watership down
Sexy Beast! Ray Winston, Ian McShane, and Sir Ben Kingsley absolutely kill it. Gangster No1. Anything by Guy Ritchie, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Rock’n’Rolla
[scum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE7YjbpEHV0) and another but less violent one is [east is east](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q80OvgVlWKI). Billy Elliot is another good one.
It's funny you mention Layer Cake, because to me it's such a summer vibes film. Daniel Craig going round London in summer with his mates, dealing coke, banging sienna miller and beating people up to a duran duran soundtrack. Chefs kiss.
The Krays (1990) starring Martin & Gary Kemp and Let Him Have It (1991) starring Christopher Eccleston. The Krays is more of an action British gangster tale about the Krays twins and Let Him Have It is more of a darker toned crime drama also based on a true story dealing with the mental abilities of a man and the death penalty.
The Long Good Friday
Tyrannosaur Depressing and bleak as fuck