Contrary to what some film fans may think, crime cinema did not originate with The Godfather. Although Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 masterpiece is responsible for a resurgence of crime movies, the genre had already been well established by the Golden Age of Hollywood. While many crime films were made stateside, many emerged from the United Kingdom. Don’t let anyone convince you that British films are nothing but period pieces. The subgenre of British crime cinema is just as exciting, shocking, and inventive as their counterparts in the United States. The United Kingdom has a much longer history than the United States, and as a result, British crime films have a larger period to cover.
While it’s hard not to associate British movies with the country’s most famous hero, James Bond, the 007 franchise represents only a small portion of the great British crime films that are released every year. Certain British crime movies were instructive in the development of the genre. Mike Hodges’ brilliant 1971 thriller Get Carter introduced a newfound realism to the genre, and gave Michael Caine one of the best roles of his career. In recent decades, directors like Matthew Vaughn, Guy Ritchie, and Sam Mendes have added stylistic elements to their crime films that make them stand out in comparison to their imitators. These are the most underrated British crime dramas, ranked.
10 ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ (2023)
Directed by Guy Ritchie
There aren’t many British crime movie directors as beloved as Guy Ritchie. Ritchie’s early films Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch featured colorful characters, snappy dialogue, and quickly edited action sequences that felt unique in comparison to other films within the genre. In some ways, Ritchie felt like the British answer to Quentin Tarantino. While Ritchie’s 2023 action thriller Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre doesn’t quite rise to the same level of some of his early projects, it’s well worth checking out for anyone that likes their crime films with a good dose of comedy.
Although Jason Statham is in countless action films every year, no one gives him comedic dialogue quite like Ritchie. Statham isn’t alone in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, as Ritchie gives him a team that includes Cary Elwes, Aubrey Plaza, and Josh Hartnett. The film is satirical of both Hollywood and the crime genre itself. It’s unfortunate that Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre didn’t perform better, because its ending sets up a potentially interesting direction that a sequel could take.
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9 ‘Sexy Beast’ (2000)
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Jonathan Glazer may have earned international acclaim thanks to his confounding science fiction thriller Under the Skin, but he proved over a decade earlier that he was a master of crime cinema. Sexy Beast serves as a fascinating examination of how criminals perceive their line of work. The film is told from the perspective of the career criminal Gary Dove (Ray Winstone), who is called back in for “one last job” by the intimidating gangster Don Logan (Ben Kingsley). Kingsley’s raw, darkly hilarious performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Sexy Beast finds the perfect mix between Glazer’s stylistic idiosyncrasies and realism. While there are many instances when the nonlinear storytelling takes over, the violence is treated with the gravity that it deserves.
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8 ‘Calm With Horses’ (2019)
Directed by Nick Rowland
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In Nick Rowland’s astounding independent thriller Calm With Horses, crime isn’t as much a choice as it is a way of life. The film explores just how challenging the criminal lifestyle can be for those that have been raised in a dangerous environment. The film explores the life of the former boxer Arm (Cosmo Jarvis), who is forced to serve at the will of a local crime syndicate.
Jarvis does a great job at evoking sympathy for Arm; he’s a father who must choose what is in the best interests of his family. However, the film’s standout performance belongs to Barry Keoghan, who co-stars as Arm’s partner Dympna Devers. Devers may claim to be Arm’s friend, but he’s much more ruthless. Keoghan’s terrifying work suggests exciting possibilities for his future appearances as the Joker in Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe.
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7 ‘Layer Cake’ (2004)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Layer Cake isn’t a James Bond movie, but it may have inspired the most recent iteration of the James Bond franchise. Daniel Craig’s performance as the gangster known simply as “XXXX” was his first major breakout role before he replaced Pierce Brosnan as 007. XXXX is just as skilled with a weapon as Bond, but he doesn’t serve MI6. Rather, XXXX is trying to escape a criminal lifestyle that he keeps getting dragged back into.
Layer Cake comes from director Matthe Vaughn. Although Vaughn never directed a Bond film himself, he lampooned the famous franchise with his Kingsman films.
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6 ‘Legend’ (2015)
Directed by Brain Helgeland
What’s better than a menacing Tom Hardy performance? Two Tom Hardys! Legend casts Hardy as the infamous gangster brothers Ronald and Reggie Kray, who terrorized London in the 1960s.
Although casting one actor as twins is sometimes used as a gimmick, Hardy does a great job at making both characters feel unique. Ronald is a slick, charismatic professional, but Reggie is a force of chaotic energy. Hardy even manages to pull off a fight scene between the two brothers in what must have been a considerably challenging feat of acting.
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5 ‘Dom Hemingway’ (2013)
Directed by Richard Shepard
Regret, pain, and redemption are all at the center of Richard Shepard’s idiosyncratic gangster thriller Dom Hemingway. Jude Law stars as the titular character, a former safecracker who is released from prison after a 12-year sentence. Law does a great job at showing the changes that Dom has to go through. Although initially Dom thinks that he can go back to the same lifestyle he had before his imprisonment, he realizes that he is no longer a young man.
Dom Hemingway also features a strong performance by Emilia Clarke as Dom’s daughter, Evelyn; it’s one of her best performances outside the Game of Thrones franchise.
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4 ‘The Limey’ (1999)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
In 1967, director John Boorman changed the tone of action cinema forever with his hypnotic revenge thriller Point Blank, which starred Lee Marvin as an assassin seeking revenge on the men that had betrayed him. While Steven Soderbergh didn’t necessarily remake Point Blank, his 1999 crime thriller The Limey feels like a direct homage. Soderbergh replicates many of the unusual editing techniques for a film that is just as haunting.
Although the film takes place in Los Angeles, it stars the great British actor Terrence Stamp as an enigmatic Englishman named Wilson. Wilson goes on a path of vengeance in order to avenge the death of his daughter; it’s only through violence that he finally allows himself to grieve.
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3 ‘Harry Brown’ (2009)
Directed by Daniel Barber
Now that the great Michael Caine has officially retired, Harry Brown feels like a particularly rewarding sendoff. He stars as an aging widower (and former Royal Marine) who is forced to take the law into his own hands when violence reaps the streets of London. The notion of an older man becoming an action hero may seem like the setup for a parody, but Caine takes the material completely seriously.
Caine has such an extensive filmography that his action films are sometimes forgotten. However, Harry Brown serves as a reminder that this is the same actor who appeared in such British crime classics as Get Carter, The Italian Job, and The Ipcress File.
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2 ‘Croupier’ (1998)
Directed by Mike Hodges
Croupier is a clever homage to classic neo-noir mysteries, and earned Clive Owen the breakout role of his career. Owen stars as the aspiring author Jack Manfred, who becomes a casino card dealer in order to find inspiration for his next book. Over the course of his experience, Manfred finds himself drawn into the addictive lifestyle of gambling.
Hodges uses the pages from Manfred’s proposed novel as a clever framing device. This allows the film’s bleak depiction of humanity’s inherent cruelty to feel like it is based on Manfred’s perspective.
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1 ‘Naked’ (1993)
Directed by Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh is one of the most acclaimed British directors of all-time. However, Leigh’s best films tend to be family dramas, biopics, and dark comedies, and not anything that would be considered a “crime thriller.” His 1993 film Naked is the one exception. The film stars Richard Thewlis as the enigmatic grifter Johnny, who roams the streets of London in search of violent and sexual encounters.
Johnny is a terrific cinematic anti-hero who doesn’t have control over his impulses. Leigh doesn’t attempt to evoke sympathy for Johnny, but he does show how constrained he feels by the parameters of civilized society. It’s only through chaos and violence that Johnny truly feels content with himself. Whilst highly disturbing, Naked is essential viewing.
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