2. Gary Oldman - Nil By Mouth (1997)
We all know Gary Oldman can act: the more perverse, nasty and eccentric the role, the better he gets (Sid and Nancy, Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element); on the flip side Gary Oldman can also do good and decent pretty well (Harry Potter series, Dark Knight trilogy). Yet another thing Gary Oldman is adept at is directing, if his debut Nil by Mouth is anything to go by. This gritty (sometimes harrowing) drama, written by Oldman himself (the film is based in part on his own real-life experiences) is slight on plot; the film plays more like a nihilistic snapshot into the life of a dysfunctional working class family in a South East London council estate: violent and short-tempered husband Raymond (Ray Winstone), put upon wife Valerie (Kathy Burke), her drug addicted brother Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles, The Fifth Element), their mother Janet (Eastenders' Laila Morse), matriarch Kath (Edna Dore), as well as an assortment of other characters, very few of which are actually pleasant. Oldman's guerrilla documentary style of filmmaking actually suits the story extremely well, and he manages to get marvellous performances out of his talented cast. Ray Winstone is suitably brutal and vicious as Raymond, but the real standout here is Kathy Burke, who sells every emotion, every look, and every line of dialogue effortlessly. The film is aided by a brilliant score by Eric Clapton, while artist Frances Ashman contributes a couple of heart breaking songs as well. Worth a look-in if you're a fan of Oldman's work, but those looking for more story-driven, less pessimistic fare would do well to look elsewhere.