2. Vera Drake
Nothing says 'working class Britain' quite like a romping yarn through back alley abortion via coat hangers, rape and injustice coupled with sympathetic glum looks that seem forever etched on the faces of everyone involved. Vera Drake is another dark, behind closed doors tale from lover of all things macabre and grim; Mike Leigh, who could easily warrant his very own list. Yet it's Vera Drake that stands out on top as the kind of film that makes you beg for an end so you can go scrub yourself hard with a wire brush. All the while using the old Alan Partridge trick of disguising your tears through the conveniently placed water that runs down your face from a cold, heartless shower. If you want to see a grim painting of working class British life that perfectly ties together secrets we all harbour (in a metaphorical sense of course), without the obvious 'drugs are bad for society message' or similarly force fed message, then honestly, look no further than this.