The Best of British Film
Today’s blog is all about British film. There are so many English-speaking films and TV series in the world but, let’s be honest, most of them come from Hollywood. Having said this, the Brits do have a fair few films too. Today we’ll look at my top five films with the main characters as British-speaking actors.
Our Favourite Films
The King's Speech
The King’s Speech is one of my all-time favourites. It follows the life in a dramatised version of King George VI. King George is played by Colin Firth, a rather famous British actor and he captures the character perfectly.
King George VI was famously known for having a stammer (a speaking difficulty). He suddenly became king when his older brother abdicated the throne to marry into an American family. He was a shy person with extreme difficulty speaking in public. This film follows his journey from a shy character to a confident king, all thanks to sessions with a speech therapist. As an English learner this is a great film to focus on sounds in English and how pausing, breathing and intonation are all important in the English language. A really great film that I definitely recommend!
Sherlock Holmes
If you like crime and mystery films then this is the one for you. Based on the book originally written by Sir Arthur Donan Coyle, this film is about a young detective, Sherlock Holmes, played by Robert Downey Jr., and his sidekick Dr. John Watson, played by Jude Law trying to solve a mystery.
Sherlock Holmes is a complex and rather strange character whose mind focuses on the things that an everyday person might not, whilst Dr. John Watson is a more loving character who brings the personality into the dynamic duo. This is a great film for more advanced speakers in English as the characters tend to speak quite fast. You can also find this as a series on Netflix with different characters and a whole host of mysteries to solve too.
Bridget Jones's Diary
If you like romcoms, Bridget Jones is the classic British choice. Bridget Jones, played by Renée Zellweger is about a single middle-aged woman trying to better her career as a TV reporter and find love. It’s a feel-good film with ups and downs and you grow to love Bridget Jones as a character.
Renée Zellweger is actually an American actress, but her British accent is so perfect in this film we’ve decided to add it to our list. If you like this film, there’s also more with Bridget Jones’s The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby, which follow her life further down the line.
About Time
Another classic romcom is About Time, where the main character Tim Lake, played by Domhnall Gleeson, can travel in time and does so to try and improve his future love life.
After a meeting at a restaurant, he instantly falls in love with Mary, played by Rachel McAdams, but upon hearing that something bad happened in his friend’s life, travels back in time to fix it, meaning his meeting with Mary never actually happened. Through travelling back and forth and with his persistence to find love, he finally settles down with Mary and they live through a series of wonderful and heart-breaking adventures. Although sad at times, it’s a heart-warming film that makes you appreciate the value of your friends, family and all you have around you.
Harry Potter
I couldn’t write a list of British films without mentioning Harry Potter. This is not just one film, but a series of eight films, all based on the books by British author J.K.Rowling.
These books follow the life of a young boy Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, and his two friends Hermione Granger, played by Emma Watson and Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint learning how to master their witchcraft and wizardry skills at the school of Hogwarts. Of course, they encounter monsters, beasts and animals on their journeys but there’s the romance, mystery and fantasy elements in all the films too. If you’ve already read the books then I definitely recommend watching the films in series. All the characters have clear British accents and are fairly easy to understand, so it’s a fun and easy way to learn English.
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