2. Sexy Beast (2000)
Jonathan Glazer's
Sexy Beast is likely best known for its Academy Award-nominated performance from Ben Kingsley, but Winstone is in many ways the counter-weight to that turn. Winstone is brilliant as Gal, the kindly, retired gangster who, despite clearly relishing the fact that he has finally escaped the life, is dragged back into it when his old criminal buddy Don Logan (Kingsley) shows up on the doorstep of his Spanish villa, offering him "one final job". Proof above all else that criminals miss the thrill of the chase, he's pulled back in, with disastrous consequences once murder enters the fray, and then naturally, suspicion. It's hugely entertaining just to watch Winstone and Kingsley doing their thing; their banter could pretty much sustain the film in itself, and they clearly enjoy working together. Still, the internal struggle of Gal, who is tempted by the heist but at the same time wants a quiet life, ensures that he is imbued with more tension and complexity than one might typically expect in a film like this.