English films about despair

A movie about reporter W. Eugene Smith and his research on mercury poisoning in Minamata, Japan, resulting in severe neurological symptoms.

Mike Leigh’s much praised 2010 tragicomical drama. During a year, a very content couple approaching retirement are visited by friends and family less happy with their lives.

Brody, his girlfriend Kerry and their friend Leo go hiking in Dartmoor's Wistman's Woods, so named because of its legendary haunted past. That night jealousies, sexual tensions and strained relationships come to a head turning what should have been a peaceful camping adventure into a trip to terror. As collective paranoia reaches fever pitch it becomes clear that there is a much darker force at work in the ancient eerie surroundings. Who or what is after them? And can any one of them survive a night in the woods?

A madly-in-love young couple's relationship begins to suffer when they struggle to conceive a child.

A family’s road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover of darkness, three masked psychopaths pay them a visit to test the family’s every limit as they struggle to survive.

A mysterious guide escorts an enthusiastic adventurer and his friend into the Amazon jungle, but their journey turns into a terrifying ordeal as the darkest elements of human nature and the deadliest threats of the wild force them to fight for survival.

Super close mother Lyn and daughter Iona (Dafty One and Dafty Two) are excited for their new life in a new town. Determined to make a success of things after a tricky start, Iona becomes 'best friends' with Keely, Stacey and Chelsea. Used to being Iona's bestie herself, Lyn feels left out. So Lyn also makes friends with Belinda, her neighbour.

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon, an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated.

An acutely observed, forensically honest, warts-and-all look at a working-class couple in their mid-20s.

Story follows a group of young Londoners as they struggle to find meaning in their lives while masking their discontent with sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll.

A gripping 18th century drama details the scandalous life of Lady Seymour Worsley, who dared to leave her husband and elope with his best friend, Captain George Bisset. Lady Seymour Worsley escapes her troubled marriage only to find herself at the centre of a very public trial brought by her powerful husband Sir Richard Worsley.

Set in a small English town in 1959, a woman who decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop, a decision which becomes a political minefield.

Good policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?

As the world succumbs to a zombie apocalypse, Cole - a hardened mercenary - is chasing the one person who can provide a cure. Not only to the plague but to Cole's own incumbent destiny.

As a snow storm closes in, one final plane takes off. The plane reports to the ground that both pilots are dead, while the slowly dwindling number of passengers on the plane wish that they’d never left the ground.

The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps, who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true identity.

England, 15th century. Hal, a capricious prince who lives among the populace far from court, is forced by circumstances to reluctantly accept the throne and become Henry V.

A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

One fateful night in a small English regional theatre during World War II a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeares King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour but the actor/manager Sir who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser Norman must scramble to keep the production alive but will Sir turn up in time and if he does will he be able to perform that night? The Dresser is a wickedly funny and deeply moving story of friendship and loyalty as Sir reflects on his lifelong accomplishments and seeks to reconcile his turbulent friendships with those in his employ before the final curtain.

Tim Minchin has fast become not just one of the biggest names in Australian comedy but also close to the biggest theatrical drawcard in the country. After winning the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer at Edinburgh Fringe, he went on to regularly perform at festivals including Just For Laughs Festival & HBO Comedy Festival, selling out shows across Australia, the UK & now the US. Locally his television appearances have included Spicks and Specks, Good News Week & recently Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight. Tim Minchin & The Heritage Orchestra was recorded at the Manchester Arena in 2010 and presents some of his most recognized tracks in with amazing arrangements from the renowned Heritage Orchestra, who have collaborated with the likes of UNKLE, Mike Patton, Jamie Cullum & the recent Blade Runner score for Massive Attack's Meltdown Festival.

The inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Seretse and Ruth defied family, Apartheid and empire - their love triumphed over every obstacle flung in their path and in so doing they transformed their nation and inspired the world.

An American girl on holiday in the English countryside with her family finds herself in hiding and fighting for her survival as war breaks out.

Yorkshire, 1974, the Maynard family moves into their dream house. It's a dream that quickly descends into a panic stricken nightmare as the family discovers a horrifying truth, a truth that will make the history books. The house is already occupied by the most violent poltergeist ever documented, a poltergeist that will tear you from your bed as you sleep and drag you helplessly into the darkness.

A shy but ambitious film student falls into an intense, emotionally fraught relationship with a charismatic but untrustworthy older man.

Casual football hooligan Mike Jacobs is going nowhere in life when he meets old friend Eddie Hill at a football match that turns nasty off the pitch. Under Eddie’s tutelage he soon finds himself inducted into the world of credit card fraud, where organised gangs withdraw hundreds of thousands of pounds from cash machines every night. As Mike becomes seduced by the money and women that come with his new lifestyle, the dangers increase and he soon finds events spiralling beyond his control.

A terrorist attack in London results in the capture of suspect, and the attorney general appoints Claudia Simmons-Howe as special advocate on his defence team. On the eve of the trial, the accused's attorney dies and a new one, Martin Rose, steps in. Martin and Claudia are former lovers—a fact which must remain hidden—and, as Martin assembles his case, he uncovers a sinister conspiracy that places him and Claudia in danger.

Returning to his homeland after years of slavery, a Norman prince seeks revenge on his father's murderer – his ruthless uncle, Earl Durant. Gaining the trust of a band of exiled farmers, he leads them into battle against Durant, exploiting them in his inexorable quest for vengeance. As one by one they are slaughtered in the brutal battle, will the prince sacrifice everything an everyone to fulfil his quest for blood?

Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall relocates to the countryside with his wife and young son, hoping for a fresh start. He has a teaching job lined up and a new home to move into; things finally look to be going Ben's way. Until, that is, he starts to feel that something isn't quite right in the house. Finding himself plagued by spectral visions, Ben becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a local mystery that appears to be putting the lives of his family in danger

Comedy soap opera re-imagining the lives of the British Royal Family as you have never seen them before.

Independent British thriller starring Dougray Scott and Kara Tointon. Lewis (Scott), an overworked doctor, is on his way home from London with his young son Max (Joshua Kaynama). Clearly exhausted from his work, Lewis decides to take a nap on the train while an attractive young woman (Tointon) watches over his son. When he wakes, all but a few passengers have alighted and he realises that the train is not stopping to let anyone else off. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, Lewis goes to investigate and finds that the train has been taken over by an unstable driver who is hellbent on destroying the vehicle along with all the remaining passengers on board.

An adult victim of childhood sexual abuse confronts the horrors of his past.

Action epic sees a passionate young man transform into a brutal warrior as he travels the unforgiving landscape in search of his long lost brother Hakan The Ferrocious, whose people are relying on him to restore order to their kingdom.

Young Autism sufferer Danny enjoys the serenity and solitude of camping. That's all about to change when enraged teens Nicholas, Calvin and Julia find him, each with their own agenda for wanting to see Danny suffer.

A family who moved into a remote mill house in Ireland finds themselves in a fight for survival with demonic creatures living in the woods.

The re-imagining of VE Day in 1945, when Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret were allowed out from Buckingham Palace for the night to join in the celebrations, and encounter romance and danger.

Comedy sequel to "East Is East". Manchester, North of England, 1975. The now much diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, the runt of the litter, is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So, in a last, desperate attempt to 'sort him out', his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 35 years earlier. It is not long before Ella Khan (Mrs Khan No2) with a small entourage from Salford, England, swiftly follows to sort out the mess, past and present.

With their golden era long behind them, comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy embark on a variety hall tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite the pressures of a hectic schedule, and with the support of their wives Lucille and Ida – a formidable double act in their own right – the pair's love of performing, as well as for each other, endures as they secure their place in the hearts of their adoring public

Dark comedy about the eccentric members of the Flowers family. Maurice and Deborah are barely together but yet to divorce. They live with Maurice's batty mother and their maladjusted twin children.

In order to win the Street Dance Championships, a dance crew is forced to work with ballet dancers from the Royal Dance School in exchange for rehearsal space.

An old monastery in a small, remote village in Suffolk, England has been haunted by a local legend for centuries. Left in ruin and shrouded by the mystery of a dark spirit that wills young couples to suicide, the place has been avoided for years, marked only by a twisted, ancient tree with an ominous hollow said to be the home of great evil. When four friends on holiday explore the local folklore, they realize that belief in a myth can quickly materialize into reality, bringing horror to life for the town.

Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.

As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy spend their childhood at an idyllic and secluded English boarding school. As they grow into adults, they must come to terms with the complexity and strength of their love for one another while also preparing for the haunting reality awaiting them.

A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.

An art curator decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss by conning him into buying a fake Monet, but his plan requires the help of an eccentric and unpredictable Texas rodeo queen.

Disgraced poet Ted Wallace is summoned to his friend's country manor to investigate a series of unexplained miracles.

A short film about a robot programmed for love who wants to fix the humans who do not love him back.

After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meet the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Mr. Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Mr. Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?

Comedy about the life and times of William Shakespeare as he starts to make a name for himself in London, whilst also trying to balance life as a husband and father for his family in Stratford-upon-Avon.

When 19-year-old Adam agrees to do a day's driving for his mum's gangster boyfriend Peter, it takes him on a 24-hour journey into a nightmarish world of murder, sex trafficking and revenge, in the company of aging hit man Roy.