Greatest Hits

It’s finally here: after months of voting, collating, debating and confirming, the best British film of the 21st century has been decided by many of the finest film critics working today. The goal was simple – streamlining all the greatest films both made and released in the UK since the year 2000, with, as is always our aim at Massive, the intention of championing British filmmaking talent in front of and behind the camera. 

A total of 60 critics named almost 180 films in total in all of their respective top 10s. The news you’ve all been waiting for, of course, is that Jonathan Glazer’s unsettling thriller Under the Skin came out on top, but a number of other trends emerged giving us an insight into the most impactful stories and storytellers to come out of the UK in the last 22 years. 

Back in 2013, Glazer had only made two features before Under the Skin – and what a two they were. Sexy Beast was released in 2000 (and was ranked 15th best UK film of the century by our critics) and Birth came after that in 2004 – which also cracks the top 100. There have been no new Glazer features since, but then it’s hard to top something with the chilling originality of our #1 title, which also gave Scarlett Johansson undoubtedly one of her most singular and haunting roles to date, even nine years and a whole lot more Marvel later. 

If the MASSIVE poll is anything to go by, we’re living through a spiriting time for female filmmakers in the UK. Lynne Ramsay, who, like Glazer, still has under five features to her name as a director, has three of those in the top 15, and two in the top 10, with 2002’s Morvern Callar just missing out on the top spot and You Were Never Really Here sitting at #9. It’s also telling that joining Glazer and Ramsay in the top five are Paddington 2 director Paul King and then Andrea Arnold and Joanna Hogg, with their immense stories of growing pains and female youth in Fish Tank and The Souvenir. 

Like Ramsay, Arnold is deeply beloved by our critics – her name pops up four times in the top 100, with her 2006 debut feature Red Road, Brontë adaptation Wuthering Heights, and her US road trip odyssey American Honey, which won the filmmaker her third Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. And this is telling of what can be so encouraging about British cinema: the ability to look beyond the island, to reach out and tell stories of people and places so much bigger than any of us individually. 

Joanna Hogg also has a lot to be proud of, as her latest film – released only a couple of months ago – featured on a lot of our critics list, as The Souvenir Part II stole the hearts of so many. And speaking of recency: Steve McQueen isn’t exactly a promising young newcomer anymore, yet two episodes of his revolutionary Small Axe collection of films released last year made their way high up the list, with both Lovers Rock and Mangrove featuring – as well as two more McQueen features that came before. Some people can just do it all.

But beyond the definitive top 100, all our critics’ votes taught us a lot about just how much there is to cherish in all the British cinema released since 2000. And so, before studying the full list below, please spend some time getting to know our list of brilliant critics, and all the films they’ve chosen – if there’s anywhere to start an education, and anybody to trust, look no further. Everyone’s welcome.

Full List of Voting Critics

Click here to read the full list of voting critics who participated in the poll.

The Top 100

=98. Beats (2019) dir. Brian Welsh
=98. In The Cut (2003) dir. Jane Campion
=98. Looking for Eric (2009) dir. Ken Loach
=98. Monsters (2010) dir. Gareth Edwards
=98. Promising Young Woman (2020) dir. Emerald Fennell
=98. Remainder (2015) dir. Omer Fast
=98. Supernova (2021) dir. Harry Macqueen
=98. The Act of Killing (2012) dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
=98. The Hours (2002) dir. Stephen Daldry
=98. The Prestige (2006) dir. Christopher Nolan
=86. A Dark Song (2016) dir. Liam Gavin
=86. Another Year (2010) dir. Mike Leigh
=86. Birth (2006) dir. Jonathan Glazer
=86. Calvary (2014) dir. John Michael McDonagh
=86. Ear for Eye (2021) dir. Debbie Tucker Green
=86. Gosford Park (2001) dir. Robert Altman
=86. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) dir. The Coen Brothers
=86. London: The Modern Babylon (2012) dir. Julien Temple
=86. Moon (2009) dir. Duncan Jones
=86. Mr Turner (2014) dir. Mike Leigh
=86. The Arbor (2010) dir. Clio Barnard
=86. The Magdalene Sisters (2002) dir. Peter Mullan
=77. I for India (2005) dir. Sandhya Suri
=77. Sunset Song (2015) dir. Terence Davies
=77. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) dir. Tomas Alfredson
=77. Topsy-Turvy (2000) dir. Mike Leigh
=77. Disobedience (2017) dir. Sebastian Lelio
=77. Dreams of a Life (2011) dir. Carol Morley
=77. In Fabric (2018) dir. Peter Strickland
=77. Man On Wire (2008) dir. James Marsh
=77. The Deep Blue Sea (2011) dir. Terence Davies
=66. Under the Shadow (2016) dir. Babak Anvari
=66. Amy (2015) dir. Asif Kapadia
=66. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) dir. Sharon Maguire
=66. Carol (2015) dir. Todd Haynes
=66. Censor (2021) dir. Prano Bailey-Bond
=66. Chicken Run (2000) dir. Nick Park, Peter Lord
=66. Ray & Liz (2018) dir. Richard Billingham
=66. Sleep Furiously (2007) dir. Gideon Koppel
=66. The Power of the Dog (2021) dir. Jane Campion
=66. Two Years at Sea (2011) dir. Ben Rivers
=66. Wuthering Heights (2011) dir. Andrea Arnold
=63. Limbo (2021) dir. Ben Sharrock
=63. Sunshine (2007) dir. Danny Boyle
=63. The House of Mirth (2000) dir. Terence Davies
=61. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) dir. Mike Leigh
=61. Tyrannosaur (2011) dir. Paddy Considine
=57. Skyfall (2012) dir. Sam Mendes
=57. Archipelago (2010) dir. Joanna Hogg
=57. Saint Maud (2020) dir. Rose Glass
=57. The Descent (2005) dir. Neil Marshall
=53. An Education (2009) dir. Lone Scherfig
=53. Hot Fuzz (2007) dir. Edgar Wright
=53. Phantom Thread (2018) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
=53. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) dir. Danny Boyle
=49. Of Time and the City (2008) dir. Terence Davies
=49. Interstellar (2014) dir. Christopher Nolan
=49. Pride (2014) dir. Matthew Warchus
=49. The Selfish Giant (2013) dir. Clio Barnard
=47. Cold War (2018) dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
=47. The Lobster (2015) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
46. Vera Drake (2004) dir. Mike Leigh
45. The Father (2020) dir. Florian Zeller
=43. Atonement (2007) dir. Joe Wright
=43. Mangrove (2020) dir. Steve McQueen
=41. Casino Royale (2006) dir. Martin Campbell
=41. Red Road (2006) dir. Andrea Arnold
=39. In Bruges (2008) dir. Martin McDonagh
=39. Unrelated (2007) dir. Joanna Hogg
=36. Dunkirk (2017) dir. Christopher Nolan
=36. 45 Years (2015) dir. Andrew Haigh
=36. Kill List (2011) dir. Ben Wheatley
35. Lady Macbeth (2016) dir. William Oldroyd
34. Attack the Block (2011) dir. Joe Cornish
=32. 28 Days Later (2002) dir. Danny Boyle
=32. The Death of Stalin (2017) dir. Armando Iannucci
31. Sightseers (2012) dir. Ben Wheatley
=29. Berberian Sound Studio (2012) dir. Peter Strickland
=29. I, Daniel Blake (2016) dir. Ken Loach
28. Dead Man's Shoes (2004) dir. Shane Meadows
27. Pride & Prejudice (2005) dir. Joe Wright
=24. 24 Hour Party People (2002) dir. Michael Winterbottom
=24. American Honey (2016) dir. Andrea Arnold
=24. Four Lions (2010) dir. Chris Morris
=22. Paddington (2014) dir. Paul King
=22. Weekend (2011) dir. Andrew Haigh
21. Bright Star (2009) dir. Jane Campion
20. The Souvenir Part II (2022) dir. Joanna Hogg
19. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) dir. Gurinder Chadha
18. Hunger (2008) dir. Steve McQueen
17. Lovers Rock (2020) dir. Steve McQueen
16. Shaun of the Dead (2004) dir. Edgar Wright
15. Sexy Beast (2000) dir. Jonathan Glazer
14. Rocks (2020) dir. Sarah Gavron
13. Ex Machina (2014) dir. Alex Garland
12. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) dir. Lynne Ramsay
11. Shame (2011) dir. Steve McQueen
10. God's Own Country (2017) dir. Francis Lee
9. You Were Never Really Here (2018) dir. Lynne Ramsay
8. Children of Men (2006) dir. Alfonso Cuaron
7. The Favourite (2018) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
6. This Is England (2006) dir. Shane Meadows
5. The Souvenir (2019) dir. Joanna Hogg
4. Fish Tank (2009) dir. Andrea Arnold
3. Paddington 2 (2017) dir. Paul King
2. Morvern Callar (2002) dir. Lynne Ramsay
1. Under the Skin (2013) dir. Jonathan Glazer