Threads introduces us, in deceptively mundane fashion, to the day-to-day life of Jimmy (Reece Dinsdale), Ruth (Karen Meagher) and their families in Sheffield. Ruth has discovered that she is pregnant, and the young couple plan to marry. Preparations for the baby are underway. Together, they strip the ‘old-fashioned’ wallpaper from their new shared apartment whilst Ruth’s Mother knits baby clothes. Jimmy drinks with his friend in a local pub, capitalising on his last days as a ‘free man’. The irony is palpable. All seems normal in this naturalistic illustration of working class Britain, if you can ignore the news reports which indicate, with increasing severity, the looming threat of nuclear war. And when the bombs drop, no-one will be spared.

Threads is the love child of phenomenal English writer Barry Hines and renowned director Mick Jackson. Barry Hines, known for his exploration of the socio-economic struggles of northern working class England, lent to the film’s script a disturbing realism that would quite literally traumatise a generation. Authentic dialogue ensures his characters feel like real people, reacting to the events of the film in a way which is true to their background and environment. When a mushroom cloud rises in the distance, Jimmy’s friend Bob (Ashley Barker) exclaims ‘Jesus Christ! They’ve done it… They’ve done it!’, whilst Ruth’s Father (David Brierley) simply shouts ‘Bloody hell!’ These genuine British reactions to a nuclear bomb drop are disturbingly effective in their simplicity and colloquialism.

Such realism is only enhanced by the direction of Jackson. Threads was shot on location in Sheffield using, for the majority of the film, handheld cameras and natural lighting; techniques which created a terrifying sense of immediacy and visual authenticity. Prior to shooting Threads, Jackson worked alongside famous American and British scientists to ensure his film would be as accurate as possible in depicting the aftermath of nuclear war. Thus, under the deft direction of Hines and Jackson, Threads was able to blend scientific exactness with believable drama.

Threads vividly depicts the indomitable spirit of ordinary people confronted by an impending nuclear attack; families who, despite their best efforts, will be wrenched from the domestic comfort of their homes and torn apart. To a contemporary audience, Threads offers a brutal reminder of just how close the story contained in this film came to being a reality during the Cold War. In 1983, just one year prior to the release of Threads on the BBC, the Soviet Union’s nuclear warning system reported the launch of missiles from the United States. If it were not for engineer Stanislav Petrov’s decision to wait before issuing a retaliatory nuclear strike, the Soviet system’s ‘false alarm’ would have likely led to full scale nuclear war. This example is just one of many that brings home the oppressive sense of dread that permeated the lives of those growing up during the 70s and 80s, and explains in part the disturbed testimony of those who watched Threads when it first aired on television.

One IMDB user recalls watching the film in 1984, when they were just 12 years old; ‘I wanted to look away, but couldn’t. I wanted to run from the room in fright, but couldn’t. For better or worse, this film showed in full, unflinching, uncompromising detail exactly what it would be like if your home town got nuked, and gave us graphic realism in spades’. But Threads was not the only film of its time to play on contemporaneous fears and anxieties. Body horror films like David Cronenberg’s 1986 masterpiece The Fly is said to have represented fears regarding the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, whilst technological paranoia found its expression in seminal films like 1984’s The Terminator. So what makes Threads special? Where Threads stands out from other films of its time is in its refusal to engage in the conventions of fictional, Hollywoodised filmmaking. Threads does not set out to entertain; it was created, as Jackson stated, to provide politicians with a ‘workable visual vocabulary for thinking about the unthinkable’.

And though modern viewers likely do not hold the same deep-rooted fears of nuclear annihilation, Threads retains its impact. This is not only because of the impressive verisimilitude that Jackson and Hines achieved on such a low budget. Threads’ portrayal of a world brought to the brink of destruction addresses current fears surrounding global warming and environmental degradation, with its focus on the breakdown of society after a catastrophic event hitting all too close to home. The COVID-19 pandemic will be fresh in the minds of viewers today, and with those memories comes a renewed fear when watching Threads; we observe the fragility of modern civilization with alarm. Whether it is the feeling of close proximity to the characters in the first half of the film conveyed by Jackson’s use of the handheld camera, or the practical effects depicting the gruesome onslaught of radiation poisoning, Threads stands the test of time and possesses the ability to strike terror in the hearts of viewers even today.

The build up to the bomb drop in Threads is uncomfortably akin to global reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most readers will remember with vague amusement the panic buying of toilet paper during the early days of the Lockdown Era, but Threads reminds us that in the moment we were genuinely afraid; and perhaps we had cause to be. In supermarkets across Sheffield, panic buying ensues as families desperately seek to stockpile goods for their homes. Articles in newspapers explain how people can best protect themselves against a strike, with Jimmy’s Father painstakingly following instructions to build a makeshift shelter out of mattresses and the kitchen door. Even the most optimistic of viewers knows his endeavour is a pointless one. At 8:30am in England, disinterested documentary-style narration declares a nuclear detonation over the North Sea, damaging communications across Britain. A second attack wipes out military targets, and the third and final attack confirms the instant death of 12-30 million people in the UK. Here, the true horrors of Threads ensue.

As depressing a watch as Threads may be, director Mick Jackson’s attempts to ‘visualise the unthinkable’ are as successful today as they were 40 years ago. Threads does not only set out to shock with gruesome depictions of radiation poisoning; it displays, in grim docudrama fashion, the long-term breakdown of British society. Ruth is, from the two large families we connect to at the start of the film, the only survivor of the initial bomb strikes. Stumbling out of her family home into the rubble that Sheffield has been reduced to, she walks past people made unrecognisable by radiation. The camera’s unsympathetic gaze observes a woman with her face burnt off clutching the corpse of her dead baby. We are reminded of Ruth’s own pregnancy, and the hopelessness of her situation. Considering our current cinematic landscape, littered as it is with dystopian heroines like Katniss Everdeen, it is important for contemporary viewers to recognise that Ruth’s post-apocalyptic existence is not confined to fiction. Wrapped in grey rags and dusty with nuclear fallout, Ruth may be reminiscent of the hero of a dystopian survival film, but Threads makes it clear that nuclear war is not something any of us would want to live through.

The second half of the film is sparse in dialogue, relying on intermittent title cards that document how much time has passed since the strikes, as well as information about the ongoing struggles the survivors face. Here, the powerful imagery of director Mick Jackson and the understated yet dynamic performance of Karen Meagher as Ruth shines through. Created with a budget of just £250,000 and shot over the course of 17 days, Threads is truly one of a kind. Combining archive footage with staged shots, Jackson blurs the lines between reality and drama to extraordinary effect.

Utilising miniatures and hand-painted backgrounds, Jackson was able to portray nuclear devastation in excruciating detail. Long shots depict cremated British countryside and towns and cities fallen into irreparable ruin. As society breaks down, we see Ruth give birth alone in a shack. Her daughter will grow up in a world that is unrecognisable. As nuclear winter sets in, she must barter for rats to eat. It is in stark contrast to the cosy life she enjoyed with her middle class family that we observe, with despair, Ruth’s relentless drive for survival in a world without hope.

The ending of Threads adheres to the same unremitting hopelessness that persists throughout the film’s second half. Hines refuses to provide viewers with catharsis, and instead ramps up the film’s horror in the final scene where Ruth’s young daughter Jane stumbles into a crude hospital, reminiscent of a cattle shed from the 14th century, to give birth. Threads ends on a freeze frame as, handed the deformed body of her stillborn child, Jane looks upon her baby with confusion, then opens her mouth in a silent scream. The message here requires no deciphering; society has regressed back to medieval times, and the long-term effects of nuclear radiation will be suffered by generations to come. Life as we know it is fragile, and the delicate threads that hold society together easily torn apart. Here, we are reminded of the first shot of the film; documentary-like footage of a spider spinning a web.

The bold ending that Threads delivers appears almost like a challenge to its viewers: ‘I have shown you what will happen if we enter into a nuclear war; do you want this?’ For anyone who has made it through the film’s two-hour runtime, the answer will be a resounding no. And whilst Jackson almost certainly anticipated such a response, he could not perhaps have anticipated the enduring legacy of Threads; his unflinching portrayal of a post-apocalyptic hellscape remains crucial today as a timeless cautionary tale about the devastating impact of nuclear weapons on humanity. As Vladimir Putin famously stated, there can be no winners in a nuclear war.

Written by Eleanor Wise

Recommended for you: 100 Unmissable BBC Films

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Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
Director: Jamie Payne
Screenwriters: Neil Cross
Starring: Idris Elba, Andy Serkis, Cynthia Erivo, Dermot Crawley, Thomas Coombs, Hattie Morahan

Four years after series 5 of the hit BBC crime drama ‘Luther’, BBC Films and Netflix have teamed up to bring Idris Elba’s ruthless police detective to feature length frenzy. Luther: The Fallen Sun has Elba’s Luther on the case of a kidnapping and multiple murder case; that is, before he’s locked up for being every variation of a dirty cop you could be in the line of justice. Luther must team up with the new DCI and find a way to break out from behind bars to stop the killings from continuing.

Idris Elba, Andy Serkis, and Cynthia Erivo, as the main trio, pump in the best performances they can. Erivo does well as the under-pressure DCI trying against all odds to bring a man to justice whilst weighing up her own personal issues. Elba, as always, brings a sense of gravitas as the brooding, grizzled bear of a man, cunning and violent in equal measure, breaking the law so others can live peacefully, sacrificing himself for the good of the people. Serkis, even with blonde hair, manages to chill the bones with a refined, simple, almost Lecter-like calm, proving himself to be one of Britain’s best actors of the 21st century.

Moving from the small screen series to a sequel film has its pros and cons. You can just about pick up the basics without knowing the series, though there are one or two moments of ‘Look at the iconic coat! And the Volvo! Iconography! Fan service for those that have seen the show!’ that could have been done without, and the regular fans would have been just as happy. It also gives writer Neil Cross the ability to go slightly more cinematic with his ideas, seemingly dipping into Skyfall on several occasions. There’s a foot chase through the London Underground and the third act takes place in a big mansion out in the middle of nowhere that the hero and sidekick are shown driving to in sweeping helicopter shots. Anyone not thinking of Bond is deluding themselves. It’s a little indulgent, but it’s fun, and something ‘Luther’ hasn’t really had the chance to do too much of.

So most of The Fallen Sun is good. It’s a strong upscaling of the original series that you can follow, with good heroes and a chilling villain. And yet, there are some parts which don’t seem to connect. Jamie Payne, veteran TV director and former ‘Luther’ director, directs in a way that still somehow feels like a TV episode, if on a bigger budget and screen, and with bigger, more cinematic story elements. The story doesn’t push too much for going out there, and despite the dark, depraved nature of the storyline, it still plays it fairly safe. Considering Series 4 of the show was only 2 episodes long, this could easily have been split in half with only minimal adjustments made. Nobody would have been any the wiser.

Additionally, certain moments in the writing don’t make sense. There’s an appearance of a body that has been seemingly frozen for many years that has very minimal relevance to the plot and the solving of the crime, and several moments feel contrived, forced, in order to enable Luther to track down the evil mastermind of the story. Elba’s prison sequences don’t do much for the plot aside from a few action scenes, and the villain contacting him via a convoluted method in his cell specifically leads to his eventual tracing and capture. Timings of events are irritatingly coincidental, and of course all evil criminals can be goaded into a mistake by pointing out their character flaws directly to them, sending them into a furious rage and thereby enabling, through a brief tussle, the hero to escape. This is the law that even veteran genius writer, Neil Cross, cannot help but fall into.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is enjoyable. It has some fun sequences, the performances are good, and if you haven’t seen the show your enjoyment won’t be effected. But it isn’t much more than fun and enjoyable. It is, strangely, exactly as good as you think it should be.

Score: 16/24

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2022)
Directors: Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy
Screenwriters: Charlie Mackesy, Jon Croker
Starring: Jude Coward Nicoll, Tom Hollander, Idris Elba, Gabriel Byrne

The BBC and Apple TV+ animated children’s story book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is 2023’s all-star offering in the Oscars’ Animated Short category, experienced British and Irish actors Tom Hollander, Idris Elba and Gabriel Byrne lending their voices on the screen, with Emma, The Phantom of the Open and ‘Fleabag’ composer Isobel Waller-Bridge providing the score.

Adapting from the beloved 2019 children’s book of the same name are directors Peter Baynton and the book’s author Charlie Mackesy. Through a beautiful 2D hand-drawn animated style, the pair faithfully bring the illustrated tale to life, the film’s unique “sketch lines still visible” approach an endearing quality that presupposes that imperfections aren’t always bad.

In the case of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, these lines illuminate the animation’s hand-drawn artistry, allowing for a visual spectacle that people of all ages can enjoy alone or, as the film proposes, together.

This is an animated short that offers all the life lessons of a classic children’s novel. We see messages of acceptance, a celebration of kindness, an encouragement of intuition and intrigue, and a heap of wilful self-belief. It then reaches further, offering modern lessons on being emotionally available, open to pain and hurt and anxiety, but loving one’s self all the same. The children watching this film will no doubt have positive lessons reaffirmed, and the adults should feel as if old lessons have been retaught.

The voice work of the adults in the cast is no doubt stellar. Tom Hollander, known for so often playing despicable characters on British television, is a kindly mole here, and his voice work is soft, his words rolling out of his mouth as if a kind gift. His is the standout performance, but credit is due to young lead Jude Coward Nicoll, who anchors the whole piece with a warmth that reaffirms the film’s values. His is a vocal performance not handicapped by usual child performance woes, such as a whiny tone and questionable cadence, his is as mature and homely as the rest of the short film.

“When the big things feel out of control, focus on what you love. Always remember, you’re enough just as you are.” The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is enough just as it is, a short film with both classic and modern messaging neatly bowed by some beautiful animation and exceptional voice work; a real triumph of its author turned screenwriter turned director, and a cosy, encouraging and beautiful little piece of cinema.

Score: 20/24

In 2005, BBC4 revived the series, beginning with an adaptation of James’ story “A View from a Hill”, and there have been seven films made intermittently in the years following, all M.R. James adaptations barring one.

In the spirit of Christmas spooks, and the old tradition of gathering around the fire to tell a ghost story (as Dickens himself loved to do; he was responsible for many famous writers of the day giving ghost stories for anthologies specifically for Christmas, including Wilkie Collins and Robert Louis Stephenson), in this edition of Ranked we at The Film Magazine are taking all sixteen films, including the classics and the new releases, and ranking them for your reading and viewing pleasure. Sit back with a mug of cocoa, a roaring fire, and get ready to feel a little chill go across the bones. These are A Ghost Story for Christmas Films Ranked.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

16. The Ice House (1978)

The second of two original stories created in the original run, The Ice House is the film which pretty much closed up shop on the series for nearly three decades.

In this tale, a gentleman staying at a luxury hotel in the countryside befriends the owners, a young brother and sister duo who seem to have the best interests of their residents at heart. But occasionally Paul feels some cold spells pass across him, and there’s definitely something strange and secretive about a modern, up-to-date establishment like this, with all its fridges and freezers, still having an ice house down the end of the garden.

The first film in the series to be directed by someone other than Lawrence Gorden Clark, the film suffers from being decidedly un-spooky, with a lack of chills save for perhaps one scene nearer the end. Irritatingly, it is also very uninteresting.

Ghosts are lacking in this ghost story, and whilst the performances try to lend… something, to the tale, it never really manages to rattle any chains. The final reveals are bland, and it’s easy to finish the film having forgotten pretty much everything as soon as it was said.

15. Stigma (1977)

The first of the two original stories from the original run, Stigma sees a mother at the mercy of an avenging spirit when a great boulder is moved from their garden. Now she’s bleeding everywhere, though there’s not a mark on her body, and her very life may be in danger…

Stigma is a fun concept, and it was certainly a risk for the series to both set a film in the modern day, and not be an adaptation of a previous work. Filmed in Avebury in Whiltshire, which was also used that year for the underrated family dark fantasy/folk horror serial ‘Children of the Stones’, there’s an attempt to blend past and present, bringing the traditional ghost story into the modern viewing age with an emphasis on bright red blood (hence the stigmata of the title) which possibly reflected the increase in explicit violence in film and TV happening in recent years. Despite this, the film just sort of… ends, and you can throw as much blood on the screen as you want; if it doesn’t chill the bones, it isn’t what we’re after.

Watch ‘Children of the Stones’, if you want good, spooky folk horror in the same setting in the same year.

Recommended for you: Blood Junkies (1993) Review

14. Martin’s Close (2019)

Peter Capaldi had acted in two ‘Doctor Who’ stories written by Mark Gatiss in the past, and now, not only is he back under Gatiss’ writing thumb, but also his directorial control (point to note: you’ll see many more ‘Doctor Who’ links as this list progresses).

This M.R. James adaptation has Simon Williams’ narrator regale us with a tale about a strange court case from the past, in which Capaldi’s Dolben must present the evidence for the conviction of a young man, Mr John Martin, on trial for the murder of a young woman. The strange part is, she has been seen by multiple witnesses, after she died.

This adaptation isn’t necessarily bad. The acting is strong (especially that of Peter Capaldi, but we all expected this), the direction is fine, and everything is generally ok. But therein lies the rub; it is ok. Nothing stands out, nothing really gets you sitting back in the armchair with your fingernails scratching at the leather.

Whilst the storyteller dramatisation idea with Simon Williams in his home is a commendable idea to recreate the story-by-the-fireside cosy feeling, it functions to interrupts the flow of the story when it shouldn’t, and constantly brings you out of any kind of immersion you might have felt. Despite everyone trying their best with what they have, it just doesn’t come together.

Playing its part in establishing the careers of megastars such as Kate Winslet, whilst also cementing the legacies of legends like Judi Dench and Billy Connolly, the BBC has made itself a go-to destination for both experienced and up-and-coming filmmakers alike, creating a home for British heritage films and popular star-driven movies alongside genre-busting pictures and art-house fare.

In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, each of the BBC’s myriad of film releases has been analysed, evaluated, compared and contrasted by three of our very best writers – Katie Doyle (KD), Sam Sewell-Peterson (SSP) and Joseph Wade (JW) – to establish in release order which BBC Film releases are must-watch, in this list of 100 Unmissable BBC Films.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

1. Truly Madly Deeply (1990)

Director: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson, Bill Paterson, Jenny Howe

Anthony Minghella’s magical realist tale of love, grief and afterlife starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman is frequently heartbreaking but also extremely warm and funny, particularly in the scenes where Rickman’s departed Jamie brings his ghost friends to hang out in Nina’s flat.

The film won Mighella a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and Rickman and Stevenson won Best Actor and Actress respectively at both the Evening Standard British Film Awards and the London Film Critics’ Circle. (SSP)

2. Jude (1996)

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Kate Winslet, Christopher Eccleston, Rachel Griffiths, David Tennant, June Whitfield, James Nesbitt

Directed by Michael Winterbottom, the would-be director of classic football movie Goal! The Dream Begins and a slew of British comedies such as The Trip and Greed, 1996’s Jude has a stellar cast of young talent that would go on to dominate Hollywood.

Starring a 20-year-old Kate Winslet in a pre-Titanic lead performance that would hint at the powerhouse actress she would become, and one of British film’s most talented leading men Christopher Eccleston, this adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s “Jude the Obscure” is an anti-establishment albeit bleak depiction of classist Britain and the restrictions facing those born on the bottom rungs of the class ladder. (JW)

3. Small Faces (1996)

Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Starring: Joseph McFadden, Kevin McKidd, Iain Robertson, Laura Fraser, Steven Duffy

A tale of three brothers that looks back on the typical life of underprivileged teenage boys growing up in 1960s Glasgow and all of its harrowing realities, Gillies MacKinnon’s Small Faces follows mischievous thirteen-year-old Lex Maclean (Iain Robertson), who is pulled into a gang war after accidentally shooting the leader of his older brother’s rival gang with an air gun. Thus follows the frank depiction of the vicious circle of gang violence as the most innocent lives are warped by the most despicable acts.

There is no mistaking the film’s condemnation of gang culture, but MacKinnon’s work also illustrates the seductive powers of violence via brutal yet captivating action scenes including a spine-tingling showdown at a local ice-skating rink. Small Faces was awarded Best New British Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1995. (KD)

4. I Went Down (1997)

Director: Paddy Breathnach
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Peter McDonald, Antoine Byrne, Peter Caffrey, David Wilmot, Tony Doyle

Conceived by Colin McPherson (whose writing credits now include the Disney production Artemis Fowl), I Went Down is a proud and charmingly refreshing entry into the almost consistently dour Irish filmography.

After upsetting a local gangster, ex-con Git Haynes (Peter McDonald) becomes obligated to go on a bounty hunt with a fellow, yet much older and more bombastic ex-con played by Brendan Gleeson. What starts out as simple debt collection becomes a convoluted affair as Git grows a conscience at the realisation of the nefarious fate that awaits their annoyingly chatty hostage, Frank Grogan (Peter Caffrey).

Immensely popular back in its home country, the film swept over the Irish Film and Television Awards, winning Best Screenplay and Best Craft Contribution, as well as receiving nominations for Best Feature Film and Best Actor in a Male Role for Brendan Gleeson, who was well on his way to international stardom. (KD)

5. Billy Elliot (2000)

Director: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven, Stuart Wells, Jean Heywood

A young boy is caught in the crossfire of the violent 1984 clashes of the Miners’ Strike in County Durham in this unashamed kitchen sink drama which earned itself Best British Film at the 2001 BAFTA Film Awards. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Reader, 2008), the film casts a scathing look at the Thatcher Years, readily depicting the brutal impacts of the Conservative government’s battle with the workers unions, which include the destruction of communities and livelihoods, and worst of all the crushing of the creativity and self-expression of a generation of children.

Jamie Bell’s powerful debut performance earned him a BAFTA for Actor in a Leading Role, while his co-star Julie Walters earned a BAFTA for Actress in a Supporting Role as Billy’s dance teacher. (KD)

Billy Elliot Review

6. Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Director: E. Elias Merhige
Starring: Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich, Cary Elwes, Udo Kier, Eddie Izzard, Catherine McCormack

The making of FW Murnau’s Nosferatu, stories about the inception of which is already fascinating to cinephiles, is used as the jumping off point for this thoroughly entertaining silent film-riffing horror movie that presupposes Max Schrek (played here by an Oscar-nominated Willem Dafoe) really was a vampire who had Murnau (John Malkovich) under his spell.

Shadow of the Vampire might have missed out on major awards success but was recognised at the Saturn Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards. (SSP)

Recommended for you: 10 Best Movie Vampires

7. Wonder Boys (2000)

Director: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Michael Douglas, Robert Downey Jr., Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Richard Knox, Michael Cavadias, Alan Tudyk, Rip Torn, Jane Adams

The cast of this turn of the century adaptation of Michael Chambon’s mid-90s novel of the same name have a combined 5 Oscar wins and a further 5 Oscar nominations to their name, with at-the-time rising star Tobey Maguire (the would-be Spider-Man) leading the cast alongside legend Michael Douglas.

Wonder Boys itself would be nominated for Best Screenplay at both the BAFTAs and Oscars, while Michael Douglas would receive a nomination at the BAFTAs for Actor in a Leading Role and Bob Dylan would win an Oscar for Original Song for “Things Have Changed”.

Dubbed by Roger Ebert as “the most accurate movie about campus life that I can remember”, this darkly tinted tale proved a funny and touching story that the stellar cast only enhanced at every opportunity. (JW)

8. Iris (2001)

Director: Richard Eyre
Starring: Jim Broadbent, Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton

A true actor’s movie, 2001 BBC Films release Iris is an exceptional example of some career-high work from talented, generational talent. Judi Dench (as the titular Iris) is at arguably her very best in this Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning lead role, while Jim Broadbent (as her husband John) transforms for his only Oscar-winning performance.

Telling of the less-than-frequent experiences of old age, and in this case the often devastating battles people have with Alzheimer’s, this tale of love, grief and life long respect and passion is among the BBC’s most timeless and unmissable films; a deserving six-time BAFTA nominee and three-time Oscar nominee. (JW)

9. I Capture the Castle (2003)

Director: Tim Fywell
Starring: Ramola Garai, Henry Cavill, Rose Byrne, Bill Nighy, Henry Thomas, Tara Fitzgerald, Sinéad Moira Cusack

One of the BBC’s many examples of film releases filled to the brim with ensembles of rising stars, this 1930s-set romance about a young girl (Ramola Garai) navigating her eccentric castle-dwelling family, as well as love and flirtation with a young Henry Cavill, is the kind of empowering movie a teenage girl would attach themselves to in opposition to the Hollywood machine’s less-than-stellar stereotypes, a well-written if a little dreamy feature. (JW)

10. The Mother (2003)

Director: Roger Michell
Starring: Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Anna Wilson-Jones, Peter Vaughan, Steven Mackintosh, Cathryn Bradshaw

From My Beautiful Laundrette writer Hanif Kureishi and Notting Hill director Roger Michell, The Mother is an alluring and provocative drama about a widow’s sexual affair with a man half her age; one that explores issues of womanhood, motherhood, empowerment, and learning the difference between living and being alive.

Starring television veteran Anne Reid in one of her most powerful performances, and would-be James Bond Daniel Craig, this drama unfolds in at times shocking fashion, yet its wholehearted Britishness never ceases. (JW)

Aftersun (2022)
Director: Charlotte Wells
Screenwriter: Charlotte Wells
Starring: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall

Met with critical acclaim after first premiering during Cannes Critic Week, Charlotte Wells’ feature directorial debut opened the 2022 Edinburgh International Film Festival in its UK premiere. The feature, from the Scotland-born director, follows the father-daughter duo of Calum (Paul Mescal) and Sophie (Frankie Corio) as they holiday at a hotel resort in Turkey. 

It is a very simple tale but one that Wells has brought to the big screen with the utmost delicacy, Aftersun playing out like a gentle hand on your shoulder, leading you carefully through each of its events. Edited as naturally as the blink of an eye, each new cut feels almost habitual. It is in the smaller details, the fine lines, however, that the film truly excels. 

In many ways, Aftersun is very similar to that of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, tensions bubbling underneath the surface just waiting for an outburst, a release. Whereas the racial tensions between Mookie and Sal of Do the Right Thing are shown more outwardly through frank racist dialogue, the tensions between Calum and Sophie are more internal.

Early in the film, a very Scottish father is seen carrying his kicking and screaming child, accusingly saying “you always have to ruin it for everyone.” Calum’s parenting could not be farther from this, nor could Sophie’s behaviour. Instead they remain happy in each other’s company, though there is a constant feeling that one of them could snap at the other any minute.

This tension between the duo is the backbone of the entire film and masterfully delivered by both Mescal and Corio, both of whom give fantastic performances. Similar to the natural editing of the film, Corio and Mescal are naturally believable as a father and daughter. Corio brings a youthful energy to the film that is as relatable as it is adorable, and she delivers her dialogue so well that you’d believe she had improvised every line. Mescal brings weight to the film, evoking a range of emotions to project the demons that Calum is fighting whilst trying his best to be a good father. The weight and energy that Mescal and Corio forge creates an initial opposition between the two.

There are numerous moments in which it seems as though one may be unhappy with the other; Calum watching from afar as Sophie plays in the arcade with a boy, Sophie refusing to let her father put suntan lotion on her. In letting the tension remain, just waiting to explode, Wells expertly creates an unease that leaves you squirming in your seat, cringing at every awkward interaction, expecting something horrible to happen any minute now. It is this constant bait and switch that ensures Aftersun is so engaging.

The clear differences between the characters add new layers to the tensions that build between the two throughout, yet there is never a doubt that they love each other. Their bond, as emphasised through both through writing and performance, is palpable – it is clear that Calum is a great father and wants to be the best parent his kid can have, but his struggles with his own demons make it difficult. Equally so, it is clear that Sophie really appreciates everything her father does and loves him. 

In among the love and tension that Wells has created there is an excellent portrayal of family, a feeling of unwavering love no matter what happens. It is perhaps one of the greatest portrayals of a parent-daughter relationship put to screen. In a year where Everything Everywhere All at Once is heralded for its complexity, Aftersun deserves to be lauded with the same level of enthusiasm for its simplicity. Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut is a truly wonderful picture. 

Score: 24/24

Down Among the Big Boys (1993)
Director: Charles Gormley
Screenwriter: Peter McDougall
Starring: Billy Connolly, Douglas Henshall, Rab Affleck, Ewan Stewart, Ashley Jensen, Gary Lewis, Billy Boyd

Released in 1993, Down Among the Big Boys came at possibly the worst time in Scottish Cinema history. A few years removed from Bill Forsyth’s transition to making films in America, but also a few years away from a surge of successful Scottish releases like Trainspotting, My Name is Joe and Ratcatcher, and with no bankable stars such as Bill Paterson or Ewan McGregor, the industry was on its knees, turning to the comic but at the time by no means guaranteed acting talents of the likes of Billy Connolly to prop up lesser known releases. Nearly 30 years on it’s easy to see why this period of Scottish film has been so largely forgotten when any number of its most notable films, including this Peter McDougall and Charles Gormley feature, headed straight to the BBC on television, but with star Billy Connolly now reaching his self-confessed twilight in his battle with Parkinson’s and the resurgence of old BBC projects across their platforms, it seems that Down Among the Big Boys may be due a resurgence in popularity. Whether it’s deserving of that or not is another question entirely…

Down Among the Big Boy’s’ screenplay is perhaps this film’s most impressive and stand out feature. The film follows Louie (Douglas Henshall), a local detective who is set to marry the daughter of glaswegian crime boss JoJo (Billy Connolly) the same week that JoJo is planning a bank robbery. It makes for an incredibly interesting story similar to the likes of Michael Mann’s Heat, only with an added family dynamic between the protagonist and antagonist in order to make the relationship between the two characters that bit more intense.

Smart, witty and unique, the premise and its delivery is at times superb, but for every clever line of dialogue there is a cheesy one right around the corner and for every enthralling action sequence there is an equally as boring family dinner, the tale of this film being one of ups and downs and a limiting of its true potential.

The direction from Charles Gormley is perhaps the biggest culprit in this sense, adding very little flare in any way and generally creating a pretty stilted watching experience for the most part. His uninspired work is as safe and “block, record, repeat” as most television direction was at the time, and Down Among the Big Boys seemingly deserved more.

The film does host a cast of regular faces that improve the viewing experience however. Actors such as Rab Affleck, Ewan Stewart, Ashley Jensen, Gary Lewis and Billy Boyd support leads Connolly and Henshall, making for practically a who’s who of Scottish acting talent. The ensemble of character actors each put in competent performances but seem stalled by Gormley’s poor direction, again asserting the notion that there was something greater to be born out of this project than that which we eventually received.

All things considered, Down Among the Big Boys is a disappointing and considerably dull watch, the good aspects of the movie simply not being enough to raise the film to a higher standard, and the bad qualities of the film tearing apart the potential that it so very clearly once had.

Although the film itself will almost certainly remain a mere blip on the radar, it is worth its place on everyone’s watchlists even if only to see how far the Scottish Film industry has come in the near three decades since.

10/24