In an early film directed by Shane Meadows, acclaimed director of 'grit flicks' like This Is England and Dead Man's Shoes, he offers us Bob Hoskins in the kind of gritty kitchen sink drama that it's hard not to wish he'd done more of. Offering a more positive insight into youth gang culture that goes against what we'd expect after seeing him in films like The Long Good Friday (more on that one later), Hoskins plays ex-hood Alan Darcy. After experiencing similar situations as a young man to what he sees in today's youth, he opens a boxing club in order to get kids off the street. One of the most critically acclaimed films of his career, Twenty-Four Seven received rave reviews and was nominated for the BAFTA for Best British Film. An underrated gem among fans of British cinema, Hoskins gives a tender yet comedic performance, winning the European Film Award for Best Actor. For anyone that was introduced to Hoskins as a man typecast into playing tough gangster types, his performance in Twenty-Four Seven offers an entirely new element.
