The Town (2010)

Ben Affleck (who also directs) stars as Doug, a member of a gang of mask-wearing robbers in Charlestown, Boston. While doing a bank job they briefly take a female hostage, Claire (Rebecca Hall), but their situation is complicated when Doug forms a romantic attachment with her. It’s also messy because Doug’s intense gang partner Jem (Jeremy Renner) won’t let him leave the group to start a new life, and nor will Irish mobster Fergie (Pete Postlethwaite). 

It’s a tense and exciting thriller that keeps you guessing. Can Doug escape his past and his criminal associations to run off with the woman he loves? Or is he destined never to leave Charlestown except by following his father into prison?

Cleverly, it gets you to empathise with Doug rather than with the FBI agent investigating him (Jon Hamm). And the romantic story is all the more affecting because you know it’s doomed. The only criticism is that Affleck looks too healthy and well-presented to be as desperate as his character is supposed to be.

The Constant Gardener (2005)

Thriller adapted from the John Le Carre novel, with an emotional dimension you wouldn’t usually expect from that genre. 

Ralph Fiennes plays Justin Quayle, a mild-mannered diplomat whose Amnesty International activist wife (Rachel Weisz) is murdered. In investigating her death he learns that she was killed for what she has discovered about the British government’s collaboration with pharmaceutical companies in Africa.

The acting is tremendous all round, and Fiennes and Weisz are completely believable. The former’s sense of loss is unbearable to behold. Bill Nighy plays Sir Bernard Pellegrin at the Foreign Office and Pete Postlethwaite plays the creator of a deadly drug. 

It’s beautifully shot, with the beauty of the African landscapes contrasting against the ugly goings on perpetuated by corporate greed. 

It’s tensely dramatic and desperately sad, but also achingly romantic. That’s a lot to weave together, but director Fernando Meirelles pulls it off.

Brassed Off (1996)

The Yorkshire mining community of Grimley is threatened when the mine risks closure. Gloria Mullins (Tara Fitzgerald) is sent there to assess the profitability on behalf of British Coal. She grew up in the village and rekindles her childhood romance with Andy Barrow (Ewan McGregor). She also joins the miners' brass band, led by Danny Ormondroyd (Pete Postlethwaite), who is clearly not well after his years working at the pit. Meanwhile, Danny's son Phil (Stephen Tompkinson) is having his own problems with his marriage and finances.

It's a tightly plotted kitchen-sink drama with flashes of comedy and a very strong political message. McGregor delivers one of his better performances, although – as usual – he never sparkles. Fortunately everyone else does. Postlethwaite is charismatic as the band leader who cares so passionately about music that he overlooks other priorities. Fitzgerald is great as the crispy, pretty outsider who turns out to be “management”. And Tompkinson is believable as a desperate man whose problems keep piling up.

I was never a fan of brass, but the music sounds potent and poignant. It takes on greater significance as the story winds towards its moving conclusion, with no easy resolution.