4. Dead Man's Shoes
Around the time this revenge thriller stalked onto our screens director Shane Meadows was already a talent to watch. Ditto also to his lofty leading man, Paddy Considine. Together these two created one of the most significant British films in recent years. Working from a script co-written by Considine, Dead Mans Shoes sees Considine's ex grunt return to his home in the Peak District to find his brother - Tony Kebbell in an affecting breakthrough role - getting into a spot of bother with the town's local dealers. Far darker than its premise might suggest the script moves at a stealthy pace with Meadows pitching the film somewhere between a revenge thriller and Carpenter-esque horror flick. Considine is a revelation as the near supernatural bro out for justice, turning in a performance that chills ('You're fucking there mate!') and thrills during a superb drug den takedown. Already an entry on numerous best British movies of all time lists, Dead Man's Shoes is hard to beat.