25 Best British Films Of The Last Decade

There's a lot of debate over what makes a film British: you need only look so far as this year's Gravity, which was referred to by BAFTA as a British film, despite being written and directed by a Mexican, acted by Americans, and taking place in space. That's to ignore the fact, of course, that it was produced by a Brit, was filmed in the UK, and the movie's effects were created by a British VFX house, so rather than quibble over what is or isn't a British film, I'm going to stick to this general criteria: if it's set in the UK, it's British, if it features a predominant British cast, it's British, and if it's directed by a Brit, it's probably British too. Like anything, there are of course case-by-case exceptions: for instance, I opted not to include Gravity on this list. The British film industry has had a fantastic decade, becoming a bigger fixture in the blockbuster movie arena than it has ever had before: the number of Hollywood productions with set-pieces or even large portions of the film shot in the UK has grown considerably in the last few years, and it's showing no signs of slowing down. Most such movies won't be making this list, though: aside from the occasional blockbuster, British cinema is still best known for its robust dramas and comedies, with a few action flicks and documentaries thrown in for good measure. Of course, countless brilliant films couldn't quite make the list of 25, so feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments!