5 GREAT British films (IMHO)

1. Trainspotting (1996) Dir. Danny Boyle.                                                                                        This harrowing tale of drug abuse is a graphic and disturbing look at a social problem that exploded during the 1990s. Attempting to realistically capture a slice of the Edinburgh drug scene, director Danny Boyle takes an unprejudiced look at addiction and depicts both the immense pleasure and gut-wrenchingly dire lows that come with it. Catapulting Ewan McGreggor into superstardom, his performance of Renton €“ the addict wishing to come clean despite the lure and coercion from friends to stay on the scene €“ is nothing short of exceptional. Using impressive visual effects to capture tripping out on screen, Boyle creates a film that has a huge impact on viewers that will never be forgotten.
   
2. Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007) Dir. David Attwood                                                                A writer takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend Stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood.
   
3. Breakfast on Pluto (2005)  Dir. Neil Jordan                                                                                  In the 1970s, a young trans woman, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her gender identity is beyond the town's understanding.
   
4. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) Dir. Guy Ritchie                                                 A botched card game in London triggers four friends, thugs, weed-growers, hard gangsters, loan sharks and debt collectors to collide with each other in a series of unexpected events, all for the sake of weed, cash and two antique shotguns.
   
5. In the Name of the Father (1993) Dir. Jim Sheridan                                                                    A man's coerced confession to an IRA bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. An English lawyer fights to free them.