'Under The Skin' Voted Best British Film of the 21st century

[A24 4,331]

Under The Skin voted best British film of the 21st century according to critics poll (60 film reviewers)

 

 

https://www.nme.com/news/film/under-the-skin-voted-best-british-film-of-the-21st-century-in-critics-poll-3203579

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

I'd probably agree with that assessment. Once seen, it's stamped, indelibly, on the brain. It may not be everyone's cup of Darjeeling, but at least it's better than all those Guy Ritchie "lad" movies.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Paddington 2 wuz robbed

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

The exclusion of In Bruges and Phantom Thread from the top ten is criminal.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit wuz robbed

[A24 4,331]

2 hours ago, Glóin the Dark said:

The exclusion of In Bruges and Phantom Thread from the top ten is criminal.

 

Isn't Phantom Thread an American movie?

[Thor 7,495]

Not a bad pick. UNDER THE SKIN is excellent. But best British film of all time? That's quite mouthful, given the rich film history of the British isles.

[A24 4,331]

7 minutes ago, Thor said:

UNDER THE SKIN is excellent. But best British film of all time?

 

It was voted best British film of the 21st century (see first post).

[Thor 7,495]

Ah. Better.

[crocodile 8,006]

It is definitely a very striking film so not a bad choice.

 

Karol

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

2 hours ago, AC1 said:

Isn't Phantom Thread an American movie?

 

I don't know what their criteria are, but Phantom Thread certainly satisfies them since it's on the list!

[Thor 7,495]

It's always tricky to denote nationalities with international co-productions, but I tend to use the director's nationality as the decisive factor. So PHANTOM THREAD is definitely a US production, in my view.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA may have been funded by Columbia, but it remains a very English film. 

What denotes an English film (dark and grey?)? What denotes an American film, for that matter, or a French film, or a Japanese film? Actors? Directors? Writers? The subject matter? The locations?

For me PHANTOM THREAD is an English film. It's English in its context, and it's English in its mood.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Postman Pat: The Movie wuz robbed

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

It's always tricky to denote nationalities with international co-productions, but I tend to use the director's nationality as the decisive factor. So PHANTOM THREAD is definitely a US production, in my view.

 

So Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a Mexican film?

 

4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

What denotes an English film (dark and grey?)? What denotes an American film, for that matter, or a French film, or a Japanese film? Actors? Directors? Writers? The subject matter? The locations?

 

Primarily the production company, I'd expect.

[Quintus 5,399]

5 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA may have been funded by Columbia, but it remains a very English film. 

 

 

I would never have known Columbia was involved had you not mentioned it. I only watched it recently too. 

[A24 4,331]

6 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Primarily the production company, I'd expect.

 

For Phantom Thread, I count three American production companies, one Chinese, and one British (Joanne Sellar).

 

So yeah, mystery solved. It's a Chinese movie!

 

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

Ben Dover's Yummy Mummies wuz robbed!

[bollemanneke 3,342]

It's certainly one of my favourites. Should have gone on longer though.

[Thor 7,495]

20 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

So Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a Mexican film?

 

He, he. No. I suppose it's a case-by-case scenario, a combination of various factors. But the director's nationality is among the most important.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

A lot of films might be called "international", but, usually, it's where the money is coming from that denotes the country of origin.

 

 

13 hours ago, Glóin the Dark said:

Ben Dover

That's a joke, right?

[JNHFan2000 2,959]

Under The Skin is on my watchlist, so I can't say anything about that.

 

But I love how high Paddington 2 is. That's amazing. Very happy. It is a terrific film

[Tom 4,654]

On 16/04/2022 at 8:16 AM, Stu said:

Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit wuz robbed

with a naked SJ...probably lands in the top three.

[A24 4,331]

9 hours ago, Thor said:

 

He, he. No. I suppose it's a case-by-case scenario, a combination of various factors. But the director's nationality is among the most important.

 

That's the first time I hear of this. So Basic Instinct is a Dutch movie? Beverly Hills Cop IV is a Belgian movie?

 

 

[Thor 7,495]

3 hours ago, AC1 said:

That's the first time I hear of this. So Basic Instinct is a Dutch movie? Beverly Hills Cop IV is a Belgian movie?

 

Marian already made that type of comment, so you're late to the party.

 

As I said, it's a combination of factors (where it's produced/shot, where the money comes from etc.), but I've always been an avid supporter of auteur theory; i.e. a director's aesthetic ownership to a film. Especially in cases such as Verhoeven and Cuaron, who have such strong trademarks. So HARRY POTTER 3 and BASIC INSTINCT are distinct "Cuaron movies" or "Verhoeven movies" that will stand alongside, say, Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN or TURKS FRUIT. So while technically not a Mexican movie or Dutch movie, they're part of the filmatic evolution of a Mexican and Dutchman, and their respective filmographies from those nations.

 

In short: The director is far more important to me than whatever nationality funded the movie, or where it was shot.

[A24 4,331]

Okay, that's your personal vision, Thor, but to me, and most other people, Bad Boys III is an American, not a Belgian movie. Of course, when Michael Haneke makes a movie, it's a Michael Haneke movie, but I feel this is another issue. 

[Thor 7,495]

28 minutes ago, AC1 said:

Okay, that's your personal vision, Thor, but to me, and most other people, Bad Boys III is an American, not a Belgian movie.

 

And I would agree. I know very little about Adil & Bilall's other work; maybe they'll find some kind of unique voice eventually, and at that point it would make sense to look at their entire body of work - both Belgian and US productions - as part of the same evolution. At this point, however, they cannot be labeled auteurs; hence the directorial ownership is vague (it's more a work-for-hire).

 

For someone like Verhoeven, on the other hand, it makes sense to look at films as different as TURKS FRUIT, KEETJE TIPPEL, SHOWGIRLS and ELLE as part of the same evolution, from the same Dutchman.

 

A film's nationality is really irrevelant to me; I first and foremost tie a film's ownership to a director. So while PHANTOM TREAD is an international production, the director is an American with a very defined style. In fact, most listings of the film label it a US film, first and foremost.

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

14 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

That's a joke, right?

 

Hopefully not his birth name, but he's a real person. It was quite an infamous name in the UK a couple of decades ago.

[Thor 7,495]

To follow up the 'parameters' a bit, because I find it very interesting.

 

One would think (or at least hope) that when this poll was made, a set of parameters or criteria were in place in order to label something a British film. The nationality of the production companies, the cast, the financers, the place it was shot and yes, the director's nationality, just to mention some. The tricky part is how each parameter is being weighed.

 

If I can transcribe it to Norway for a moment.

 

In recent years, several Norwegian directors have made films in the US. For example PASSENGERS (Morten Tyldum), TOMB RAIDER (Roar Uthaug), PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg), THE KARATE KID (Harald Zwart), SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (André Øvredal), CHILD'S PLAY (Lars Klevberg), DRAGONHEART: BATTLE FOR THE HEARTFIRE (Patrick Syversen) and others.

 

Not that any of these would feature high on any Norwegian best of lists anyway, since they're too genre niche and too Hollywood, but with the possible exception of Syversen, none have a particular 'auteur' stamp as of yet. I don't believe any of them would be eligible.

 

Vice versa, I'm pretty confident that, say, Joachim Trier's LOUDER THAN BOMBS would be an eligible title for 'Best Norwegian Film', simply because Trier has made more of an auteur name for himself. Even if it's an international co-production (but then, Trier has made better films, so it probably wouldn't rank high anyway).

 

It's all rather tricky.

[GerateWohl 4,357]

Another interesting case might be Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, something I would have expected under these top ten. Is it not there because it is counted as an Indian movie? 

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

It is on the list, at number 53.

[GerateWohl 4,357]

OK. I am not sure If I would subscribe, that Paddington 2 was so much better.

 

Or Intimacy from Patrice Chéreau. British/French co-production, takes place in England, english actors, french director. Is this a british movie?

Probably, I should look at the whole list. 

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

They count Inside Llewyn Davis and Carol as British films, so I guess Intimacy would qualify! It's not on the list, though.

 

For convenience, here is the full Top 100:

 

Spoiler

Asterisked films are ranked jointly with the nearest unasterisked film appearing higher on the list; I was too lazy to look up how to edit the HTML code to change the numbering manually.

1. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2014)
2. Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002)
3. Paddington 2 (Paul King, 2017)
4. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
5. The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg, 2019)
6. This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2006)
7. The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018)
8. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
9. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2018)
10. God's Own Country (Francis Lee, 2017)
11. Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)
12. We Need to Talk about Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2011)
13. Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014)
14. Rocks (Sarah Gavron, 2020)
15. Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer, 2000)
16. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
17. Lovers Rock (Steve McQueen, 2020)
18. Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2020)
19. Bend It Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, 2002)
20. The Souvenir Part II (Joanna Hogg, 2022)
21. Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009)
22. Paddington (Paul King, 2014)
23. Weekend* (Andrew Haigh, 2011)
24. American Honey (Andrea Arnold, 2016)
25. Four Lions* (Chris Morris, 2010)
26. 24 Hour Party People* (Michael Winterbottom, 2002)
27. Pride & Prejudice (Joe Wright, 2005)
28. Dead Man's Shoes (Shane Meadows, 2004)
29. Berberian Sound Studio (Peter Strickland, 2012)
30. I, Daniel Blake* (Ken Loach, 2016)
31. Sightseers (Ben Wheatley, 2012)
32. The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci, 2017)
33. 28 Days Later* (Danny Boyle, 2002)
34. Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011)
35. Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd, 2016)
36. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
37. 45 Years* (Andrew Haigh, 2015)
38. Kill List* (Ben Wheatley, 2011)
39. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008)
40. Unrelated* (Joanna Hogg, 2007)
41. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
42. Red Road* (Andrea Arnold, 2006)
43. Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007)
44. Mangrove* (Steve McQueen, 2020)
45. The Father (Florian Zeller, 2020)
46. Vera Drake (Mike Leigh, 2004)
47. Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2018)
48. The Lobster* (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015)
49. Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014)
50. Of Time and the City* (Terence Davies, 2008)
51. Pride* (Matthew Warchus, 2014)
52. The Selfish Giant* (Clio Barnard, 2013)
53. An Education (Lone Scherfig, 2009)
54. Hot Fuzz* (Edgar Wright, 2007)
55. Phantom Thread* (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2018)
56. Slumdog Millionaire* (Danny Boyle, 2008)
57. Archipelago (Joanna Hogg, 2010)
58. The Descent* (Neil Marshall, 2005)
59. Saint Maud* (Rose Glass, 2020)
60. Skyfall* (Sam Mendes, 2012)
61. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008)
62. Tyrannosaur* (Paddy Considine, 2011)
63. The House of Mirth (Terence Davies, 2000)
64. Limbo* (Ben Sharrock, 2021)
65. Sunshine* (Danny Boyle, 2007)
66. Amy (Asif Kapadia, 2015)
67. Bridget Jones's Diary* (Sharon Maguire, 2001)
68. Carol* (Todd Haynes, 2015)
69. Censor* (Prano Bailey-Bond, 2021)
70. Chicken Run* (Nick Park and Peter Lord, 2000)
71. The Power of the Dog* (Jane Campion, 2021)
72. Ray & Liz* (Richard Billingham, 2018)
73. Sleep Furiously* (Gideon Koppel, 2007)
74. Two Years at Sea* (Ben Rivers, 2011)
75. Under the Shadow* (Babak Anvari, 2016)
76. Wuthering Heights* (Andrea Arnold, 2011)
77. The Deep Blue Sea (Terence Davies, 2011)
78. Disobedience* (Sebastian Lelio, 2017)
79. Dreams of a Life* (Carol Morley, 2011)
80. I for India* (Sandhya Suri, 2005)
81. In Fabric* (Peter Strickland, 2018)
82. Man on Wire* (James Marsh, 2008)
83. Sunset Song* (Terence Davies, 2015)
84. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy* (Tomas Alfredson, 2011)
85. Topsy-Turvy* (Mike Leigh, 2000)
86. Another Year (Mike Leigh, 2010)
87. The Arbor* (Clio Barnard, 2010)
88. Birth* (Jonathan Glazer, 2006)
89. Calvary* (John Michael McDonagh, 2014)
90. A Dark Song* (Liam Gavin, 2016)
91. ear for eye* (debbie tucker green, 2012)
92. Gosford Park* (Robert Altman, 2001)
93. Inside Llewyn Davis* (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)
94. London: The Modern Babylon* (Julien Temple, 2012)
95. The Magdalene Sisters* (Peter Mullan, 2002)
96. Moon* (Duncan Jones, 2009)
97. Mr. Turner* (Mike Leigh, 2014)
98. The Act of Killing* (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)
99. Beats* (Brian Welsh, 2019)
100. The Hours* (Stephen Daldry, 2002)
101. In the Cut* (Jane Campion, 2003)
102. Looking for Eric* (Ken Loach, 2009)
103. Monsters* (Gareth Edwards, 2010)
104. The Prestige* (Christopher Nolan, 2006)
105. Promising Young Woman* (Emerald Fennell, 2020)
106. Remainder* (Omer Fast, 2015)
107. Supernova* (Harry MacQueen, 2021)

 

[A24 4,331]

Wow, people really disliked Dunkirk. It's number 36 on the list. 

 

 

But it scored higher than Interstellar!

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Dunkirk is great, Interstellar is just better IMO.

I think I haven't seen a third of those movies so far but I would have certainly rank Children of Men as number 1 instead of Under the Skin which is certainly unforgettable but not really pleasent to watch

[GerateWohl 4,357]

The list says Bridget Jones Diary is much better than The Hours. That's really bullshit.

[Thor 7,495]

4 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

The list says Bridget Jones Diary is much better than The Hours. That's really bullshit.

 

He, he. In a purely filmatic sense, yes. But BRIDGET JONES has a far greater pop-historical position, so it gets some credits for that (like NOTTING HILL or FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL).

[GerateWohl 4,357]

26 minutes ago, Thor said:

He, he. In a purely filmatic sense, yes. But BRIDGET JONES has a far greater pop-historical position, so it gets some credits for that (like NOTTING HILL or FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL).

But even in that category of movies "About a Boy" is much better and that didn't even make it under the top hundred, which is a shame in my opinion.

 

And no "The King's Speech", no "the Queen", no "The Darkest Hour". Seems the critics dislike like movies that were sucessful at the Oscars.

[Quintus 5,399]

7 hours ago, Thor said:

To follow up the 'parameters' a bit, because I find it very interesting.

 

One would think (or at least hope) that when this poll was made, a set of parameters or criteria were in place in order to label something a British film. The nationality of the production companies, the cast, the financers, the place it was shot and yes, the director's nationality, just to mention some. The tricky part is how each parameter is being weighed.

 

If I can transcribe it to Norway for a moment.

 

In recent years, several Norwegian directors have made films in the US. For example PASSENGERS (Morten Tyldum), TOMB RAIDER (Roar Uthaug), PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg), THE KARATE KID (Harald Zwart), SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (André Øvredal), CHILD'S PLAY (Lars Klevberg), DRAGONHEART: BATTLE FOR THE HEARTFIRE (Patrick Syversen) and others.

 

Not that any of these would feature high on any Norwegian best of lists anyway, since they're too genre niche and too Hollywood, but with the possible exception of Syversen, none have a particular 'auteur' stamp as of yet. I don't believe any of them would be eligible.

 

Vice versa, I'm pretty confident that, say, Joachim Trier's LOUDER THAN BOMBS would be an eligible title for 'Best Norwegian Film', simply because Trier has made more of an auteur name for himself. Even if it's an international co-production (but then, Trier has made better films, so it probably wouldn't rank high anyway).

 

It's all rather tricky.

 

Only if you really overthink it. 

[Thor 7,495]

Not really. One needs parameters for everything, otherwise it's all just random.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

6 hours ago, May the Force be with You said:

...I would have certainly rank Children of Men as number 1 instead of Under the Skin which is certainly unforgettable but not really pleasant to watch

CHILDREN OF MEN isn't exactly a walk in the park, either 

[Sweeping Strings 2,357]

Yeah, for me the tiny glimmer of hope at the end didn't really redeem all the preceding bleakness. 

I'm not sure I fancy Under The Skin, even with all the nekkid Scarlett. 

[GerateWohl 4,357]

I would also say, there are better movies on the list than Under the Skin, even though I liked the movie.

But it is after all some kind of Fantasy Filmfest B-movie.

The vote is based on the poll choice of 60 film critics.

The result should rather be called "The most liked 21st century movie by British film critics" and not "Best British movie of the 21st century".

For that title I am with Thor, someone would need to define the criteria.

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

This film is the epitome of pretentiousness.

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

18 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

And no "The King's Speech", no "the Queen", no "The Darkest Hour".

 

Quite right, in my view! These are grotesquely overrated films. Some outstanding films missing from the list are Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday, Mark Jenkin's Bait, Mike Leigh's Peterloo, Andrew Haigh's Lean on Pete and David Mackenzie's Starred Up. I would also find room for Daniel Kokotajlo's Apostasy, Joanna Hogg's Exhibition, Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story, Steven Knight's Locke, Hope Dickson Leach's The Levelling and Aleem Khan's After Love.

 

I wonder why Ida isn't on the list while Cold War is...

[Quintus 5,399]

17 hours ago, Thor said:

Not really. One needs parameters for everything, otherwise it's all just random.

 

Well, a prime example would be the original Star Wars trilogy: famously constructed and largely made (with a British crew) in the England - but never thought of as being anything but major Hollywood blockbuster movies. Rightfully so. Same goes for Superman. To an extent, Indiana Jones. 

 

Hearts and minds, I guess. I'd argue that any "country of origin association" is something more abstract than you contend. 

[Thor 7,495]

Yes, that was my point. Not that it's abstract, necessarily, but that the (very concrete) parameters are weighed very differently.

[LSH 968]

Good to see Children Of Men, This Is England, Ex Machina and Sexy Beast up high. They'd all be in my top ten.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

17 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

CHILDREN OF MEN isn't exactly a walk in the park, either 

True but I find it less pretentious plus it has a nice glimmer of hope at the end.

 

Personally my top 10 be more like this (although I haven't see all of them, I really have to check those Paddigton movies)

1. Children of Men
2. Interstellar
3. Chicken Run
4. Inside Llewyn Davis
5. Promising Young Woman
6. Skyfall
7. Hot Fuzz
8. Ex_Machina
9. Shaun of the Dead
10. Dunkirk

 

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

If I were to pick ten (from the given hundred) they would include

• Archipelago
• Four Lions
• In Bruges
• Phantom Thread
• Saint Maud
• Under the Skin
• Unrelated
• You Were Never Really Here

with a couple of dozen vyingfor the last two places.