British crime movies are cut from a different cloth;their gritty and often shocking storylines always play with dark comedy, which doesn’t water down their intense messages but rather elevates them. The best crime movies hailing from Britain have a lot in common while being so beautifully unique. Another typical thread for each is the unapologetic antihero, someone with violence at their fingertips who audiences shouldn’t cheer for but ultimately do.
These movies succeed in creating characters that are equally hard and easy to love while still showing that a life of crime always has karmic lessons at each gangster’s very end. It’s rare to see the worst guy get the best fate of all, delivering a potent message. All of these elements are the secret spices that make British crime movies so memorable and loved; a lot of them are some ofthe all-time best crime movies, and it’s easy to see why.These are the best British crime movies, ranked by their influence on the genre, their ability to convey their themes accurately, and their overall quality.
10’Brighton Rock' (1948)
Directed by John Boulting
British film noirfans knowBrighton Rockvery well. This feature showcasesRichard Attenboroughat his toughest, most sinister, and he delivers a strong lead performance that puts the film on numerous ‘best of’ lists. He portrays the ruthless street criminal Pinkie Brown, the leader of a street gang that chases down and kills a reporter who exposed street crime and its participants. When he tries to cover up the crime, he’s faced with numerous challenges, including meeting and marrying a witness called Rose (Carol Marsh).
Pinkie has no mercy and isn’t swayed by emotion easily; in fact, he seemingly feels nothing at all. When he communicates with Rose, he’s cold and distant, and when life is at stake, he only cares to save himself.Graham Greenewrote the novel in 1938 and intertwinedthemes of sin, forgiveness, morality, and mercy, which are also running doctrines of the Roman Catholic faith. WithBrighton Rockcarrying such heavy themes, its cruelty lingers and follows its characters and viewers long after it ends.
Brighton Rock
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9’Layer Cake' (2004)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughnwas mostly known as the executive producer ofGuy Ritchie’s movies before dipping his toes into directorial waters himself. His debut feature,Layer Cake, was so good that it’s generally considered one of the best crime movies of the 2000s and beyond.Layer Cakestars a talented ensemble led byDaniel Craigand includingTom Hardy,Colm Meaney, andMichael Gambon. Many questioned whether Vaughn would be able to step away from the Ritchie-esque movie style, but he proved himself a worthy player in the crime genre with exceptional directing, editing, and storytelling.
Layer Cakefollows Daniel Craig as the unnamed protagonist, XXXX. He doesn’t condone violence or like guns, so his only criminal activity is drug dealing. When he expresses a wish to retire, a notorious crime boss, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham), decides to give him two final jobs, but both require XXXX to get violent. Reluctantly warming up to guns, gangster activities, and a woman named Charlie (Sienna Miller), XXXX is seemingly left to manage loose ends the bosses didn’t want to handle themselves. The story essentially has two plots that come together into onesuperb crime movie with dashes of black comedy and heaps of thrilling moments.
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8’Snatch' (2000)
Directed by Guy Ritchie
No British crime movie list would be complete without Guy Ritchie’sSnatch. Though his sensibilities have evolved lately, and he made some excellent action movies (Wrath of ManandThe Covenant, specifically) that allowed him to step out of his metaphorical shell,Snatchis quintessentially Britishand a fantastic sophomore feature from a director whose debut was expected to be a one-trick pony.SnatchstarsJason StathamandStephen Grahamas Turkish and Tommy, managers of a street boxer, Gorgeous George (Adam Fogerty).
When they visit a travelers' community to buy a caravan for George, the boxer gets knocked out by the hot-headed fighter Mickey (Brad Pitt). With their money and lives at stake, Turkish and Tommy have no choice but to ask Mickey to fight for them. Other iconic characters in the movie’s other subplots include Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija), Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones), and Vinnie, Sol, and Tyrone (Robbie Gee, Lennie James,andAde).Snatchis a fantastically complex movie that’s hard to retell, butit plays with dark comedy, action, tragedy, and dramaall at once; it’s worth rewatching many times and is highly memorable, which is tough to accomplish with convoluted plots.
7’The Italian Job' (1969)
Directed by Peter Collinson
The Italian Jobis a slick crime comedy infused with memorable action scenes. It’s one of the best crime movies withMichael Cainein the leadand has one of the best endings in film history. Sincethe ending is an abrupt cliffhanger, many writers have tried to contribute ideas, with evenThe Royal Society of Chemistry asking the publicto come up with a scientifically accurate solution.
The movie follows Charlie Croker (Caine), a thief who’s just gotten out of prison. To celebrate, he meets up with his girlfriend, Lorna (Margaret Blye), and later goes to Italy to meet his old associate for a new job. But, when Charlie arrives, his associate’s wife appears, saying he was killed and asking Charlie to continue the heist. Charlie gathers a team of people, including Lorna, and devises a plan to rob a convoy carrying gold to Turin. The movierepresents both the crime and caper genres, but its most iconic plot lies in using Mini Cooper cars for the heist. Fast-forward almost 60 years later:The Italian Job’s creators managed to make a movie that has been talked about for decades after its release.
The Italian Job
6’The Ladykillers' (1955)
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Not to be confused with theCoen brothers' remakeof the same name withTom Hanks, the originalThe Ladykillersstars British acting legendsAlec GuinnessandPeter Sellers. This crime caper is often voted as one of the greatest comedies of all time and, more commonly, as one of the greatest movies ever made.The Ladykillersis an ensemble comedy about a group of thieves who settle in a rental room of an old lady’s home.
The old lady in question isn’t a naive woman, though — Mrs. Wilberforce is lonely and paranoid and frequents the local police station, where she reports all sorts of crimes. She’s one day visited by a professor called Marcus (Alec Guinness), who wishes to rent a room in her house for him and his string quartet. From there, the gang plans a robbery of the King’s Cross train station.The Ladykillersisincredibly witty, clever, and intense, proving that the best crime movies don’t need to be bloody to be entertaining.
The Ladykillers
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5’Sexy Beast' (2001)
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Jonathan Glazer’s directorial debut is as stellar as one could imagine. His career includes movies of various genres, butSexy Beastput him on the map of great crime movie directors. It’s iconic for its dialogue, but it also had a lasting impact on pop culture; indeed, the consensus is thatSexy Beastchanged the landscape of heist movies.Ray Winstoneand SirBen Kingsleyhave a cat-and-mouse game of gangster talk against the beautiful backdrop of southern Spain, portraying a retired gangster Gal (Winstone) and uncontrollable (current) gangster Don (Kingsley).
Gal Dove lives on Costa del Sol with his wife; he’s free of any obligations, with his only aim being getting a nice tan. His beautiful villa on the coast shows he’s earned his keep and deserves a break. But his rest is put to a stop when the notoriously psychotic criminal Don Logan arrives at his villa to persuade him to do another heist in London.Sexy Beasthas the sort of karmic moments mentioned when it’s obvious stopping at a certain point is the best way to leave with one’s head still on their shoulders. With comedic flair and a frustrating heist scene,Sexy Beasttruly did something new with the crime genre.
Sexy Beast
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4’Harry Brown' (2009)
Directed by Daniel Barber
Michael Caine’s roleas the titular character inHarry Brownmade waves after its release. Many people list this movie as one of the best they’ve seen during the 2000s (or ever), saying how relevant it was tounderstanding and depicting the brutal underground lifestyle. This could also be due toBen Drew, akaPlan B, whose rap and acting career was at its shiniest around 2009; he was the force that attracted numerous young people of the time to watchHarry Brown, leaving the cinemas wide-eyed and impressed.
Despite the very positive response from audiences, critics didn’t completely condone theamount of heavy violence in the movie. But the violence is justified by its plot, in which retired council estate resident Harry Brown starts taking revenge on the gang that occupies the estate. After he’s late to visit his dying wife at the hospital because of fear of going through a tunnel shortcut, Harry’s chess-playing friend Len (David Bradley) tells him he’s being terrorized by the gang. Harry, a former military man, leaves his physical retirement, opting for violent retribution. Whether it’s popular as a product of its time or because it’s a good movie, there’s no denying the impactHarry Brownand Michael Caine made.
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3’Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels' (1998)
It would be hard to have a list of British crime movies and not include Guy Ritchie andJason Statham’s feature film debut,Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Ritchie’s witty, out-of-the-box script about a group of small gangsters changed the way crime movies were made in the 2000s. Everyone wanted a slick ensemble introduction and a relatable soundtrack, but Ritchie sort of did it first and had that accolade to boast about. His tight character writing and dynamic dialogue earned him numerous accolades over the years. Subsequently,Empirehas namedLock, Stockone ofthe 100 greatest British movies.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsfollows a group of friends that dabble in all sorts of hustles: Eddie, a highly skilled card player; Tom, “the entrepreneur of the bunch”; Bacon, a street peddler who loves getting into fist fights; and Soap, a chef who prides himself on being “clean.” The foursome gathers a large sum of money for Eddie to enter a high-stakes poker game with local gangster Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty), but when Eddie loses, they have more to lose than just money. Just likeSnatch,Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelshas parallel plots merging into one larger story; it’s less complex thanSnatchbutsnappier in dialogue and chock-full of heavy action scenesand loud shootouts.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
2’The Long Good Friday' (1980)
Directed by John Mackenzie
Often considered the best British crime movie of all time,The Long Good Fridayserves as a template for intense character studies and stories that follow a day in the life of a notorious gangster.Bob Hoskins, a cinema legend, had his breakthrough role in this movie,delivering a heavyweight performance that echoes in timethe more relevant the movie becomes. As it turns out for London, the movieisextremely relevant — the changes that Hoskins' gangster ideates in the movieseem to have finalized during the 2010s.
The Long Good Fridayfollows the successful London gangster Harold Shand during Good Friday. He’s scheduled a trip on his yacht for potential investors in his riverside real estate scheme and is joined by the American mob and his wife, Victoria (Helen Mirren). Outside the yacht, Shand needs to take care of problems with the IRA and anyone who makes mistakes on his watch. The movie’s incredibly violent scenes showcase why Shand is the main man in London at that moment; he’s ruthless and doesn’t forgive easily.The Long Good Fridayisa mandatory watch for fans of gritty crime movies.
The Long Good Friday
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1’Get Carter' (1971)
Directed by Mike Hodges
Michael Caine seems to be the common denominator for successful gangster movies. A captivating face on-screen and massive talent, Caine always picks roles that would put him higher on the legendary list; in his biography,he discussed choosing to play Carter, saying: “Carter is the dead-end product of my own environment and my childhood; I know him well. He is the ghost of Michael Caine.“Get Cartermoved boundariesin the British film industry sinceit was amongthe first very violent movies in a sea of censored, tame crime stories; it shows the underbelly of Newcastle and the working class.
Get Cartershows the former hitman Jack Carter (Caine) returning from London to his native town, Newcastle, for his brother’s funeral. When he realizes his brother was killed, he goes on a rampage to find out who did it and why. Carter’s journey takes him on a rollercoaster of emotion, from sadness to rage, though he doesn’t show any of it on his face.Mike Hodges' feature debut helped Caine get out of the shell of a goofy gangster type and into a more serious role as the ruthless hitman.This seminal work of cinema forever changed the crime genre, leaving it with big shoes to fill.
