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You are here: Home / Culture / The London Fiver – Top 5 Modern (Post 1990) Films Set in London – What’s Your Favorite?

The London Fiver – Top 5 Modern (Post 1990) Films Set in London – What’s Your Favorite?

May 12, 2015 By John Rabon

With London as their backdrop, a number of films from the 1990s-onward have become instant classics and given audiences a modern view of the city. Crime, comedy, romance, diversity, and magic are all present in London’s recent film history, and even though the films are newer, they nonetheless established themselves as classics. Have a look below at five modern films set in London that you’ll want to watch this weekend and feel free to offer your suggestions in the comments.

1. Bridget Jones’s Diary

Bridget2

Based on the bestselling book by Helen Fielding (itself based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice), the 2001 romantic comedy finds Bridget (Renee Zellweger) facing more modern concerns than Elizabeth Bennett, though the themes stay the same. Filmed in Southwark, the Mall, the Strand, Piccadilly, King’s Cross, and more, Bridget Jones’s Diary gives audiences one of the first looks at 21st Century London and the life of a single woman in the city. Bridget hilariously deals with problems many people can still relate to while trying to decide between bad boy Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and clean-cut, though blunt, attorney Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).

2. Dirty Pretty Things

dirty-pretty-things-poster-1

Post-war London saw an influx of immigrants from all over the world, transforming the city into a diverse cultural hub. Stephen Frears brings the life of 21st Century immigrants to the screen in this 2002 film that sees Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who was a doctor in his native Nigeria, come to London illegally where he works as a cab driver and a seedy hotel clerk to get by. His employment and friendship with newly-arrived Turkish immigrant Senay (Audrey Tatou) is threatened by a secret the hotel manager is hiding. The challenges of legal and illegal immigrants are present (though exaggerated as a thriller requires), though it gets an arguably happy ending.

3. Naked

Naked-5353_8 (1)

The 1993 film sees Johnny (David Thewlis) escaping Manchester and the family of a girl he raped for a new life in London, ending up in Dalston. It is certainly dark as dark comedies go and Johnny isn’t much of a likable character as he is egotistical, nihilistic, and self-destructive. Critics have written that while The Long Good Friday marks the beginning of Thatcherite London in film, Naked marks its end. While not a hero by any stretch of the imagination, director Mike Leigh treats Johnny as a victim, a product of the world 80s London produced. BT Tower, Hackney, Soho, and Brick Lane make appearances as well, with the tower a symbol of derailed communication.

4. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels

Lock-Stock-and-Two-Smoking-Barrels

One of director Guy Richie’s talents has always been finding the comedy in London’s criminal underworld, and while many fans of his films might pick the more-popular Snatch over this 1998 offering, this film offers a less glossy and fuller picture of London. LSTSB offers glimpses of Hackney, Shoreditch, Camden, Bethnal Green, Windsor, and more while spotlighting the lives of several lowly criminals and how they interact with the larger organized crime of the city.

5. Attack the Block

Attack_The_Block_2

Seriously one of my favourite comedies of recent years, this 2011 film combines a look at life on the estates of inner-city London with a fantastical alien invasion. Director Joe Cornish conceived of the story after being mugged by several teenagers and wanted to explore what their lives were like. Combine that with the usual wackiness of stories produced by Big Talk Productions (which include Spaced, Hotz Fuzz, and other well-known Edgar Wright projects), and you get a film that is equal parts dark comedy and sci-fi gem. London features heavily in the picture, focusing on South London areas of Brixton, Peckham, Southwark, Islington, and Walworth. A break-out film for several involved, as Cornish as made a name for himself as a writer on The Adventures of Tintin and Marvel’s upcoming Ant-Man, while lead actor John Boyega is set to appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December.

John Rabon
Author: John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

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Filed Under: Culture, Featured, Movies

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About John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brad says

    May 12, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    You forgot Love Actually and Notting Hill. Love Actually, though a very sweet (some would say saccharin) and light story, is actually my favorite.

    • Maria says

      May 21, 2015 at 11:19 pm

      Love Actually and both Bridget Jones movies….

  2. Annette Parsons says

    May 12, 2015 at 5:23 pm

    Mine too!

  3. debbie says

    May 12, 2015 at 5:59 pm

    Yea, love actually, nottinghill- which I know every line by heart, and 28 days later

  4. oly mason says

    May 12, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    what about Four Weddings and a Funeral??
    Notting Hill and Sliding Doors

  5. Kristen says

    May 13, 2015 at 6:11 am

    Just The Thought of You

    • Kristen says

      May 13, 2015 at 6:13 am

      The Very Thought of You****

  6. maría Laura frasnedo says

    May 13, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    I love Bridget Jones’s diary

  7. RobSanDiego says

    May 14, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    V For Vendetta or Shaun of the Dead are my picks. They show London at its worst, so I appreciate the real London even more despite all its problems. What’s the big deal about a rail strike when you compare it to zombies?

  8. jack sydell says

    May 14, 2015 at 9:19 pm

    Love Actually is my favorite,

  9. LiterarySnob says

    May 19, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    Or A S Byatt’s Possession!! Love that movie as well as her book!!

  10. Denise says

    May 22, 2015 at 3:53 pm

    Love Actually will always be my favorite…..& my sister’s too.

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