66 Essential British Films To Take Your Mind Off The World Cup

49. Wish You Were Here (1987)

Wish You Were Here was one of two films released in 1987 written by David Leland and loosely based upon the life of high class madame Cynthia Payne. Whereas Private Services starring Julie Walters dealt with Payne's later career in the brothel trade, Wish You Were Here examined her early life growing up in the fifties in a small seaside town on the Sussex coast. Emily Lloyd gives a spirited debut performance as Payne analogue Lynda Mansell, in a film which stood out for presenting the sexual coming-of-age experience from a female perspective.

48. Nuts In May (1976)

Everybody who has ever been on a camping holiday in Britain should watch Mike Leigh's Nuts in May, it is however no retread of Carry On Camping. Nuts In May is an exploration into one of Leigh's central themes: the tension that exists between the British middle and working classes. Nuts And May isn't a sociology lecture though, it is a tremendously funny film, which like the best Mike Leigh veers effortlessly from comedy to drama. The film is perhaps most memorable for Roger Sloman's Keith and Allison Steadman's Candace-Marie, two characters that have inspired a thousand amateur impressionists. In fact it is difficult to even think of the film without instantly hearing Candace-Marie saying "Keith?" in her churlish yet endearing way.

47. Layer Cake (2004)

Matthew Vaughn's transition from producer to director came as something of a surprise when it was first announced he was directing an adaptation of J. J. Connoly's novel Layer Cake. It was even more of a revelation when he ended up creating a film that surpassed both of Ritchie's similarly themed works by taking a harder edged approach to the London underworld. A star making performance by Daniel Craig as XXXX hints at future Bond, and Vaughn displays the visual deftness that would later lead to an eclectic and interesting career.