A Shock to the System (1990)

Graham Marshall (Michael Caine) works as an advertising executive in New York. After losing out on a promotion, he sets off for home and ends up accidentally killing a man in a minor scuffle by pushing him onto the subway tracks. No one else witnesses what happens, so he walks away from the scene without repercussions. This is a moment that profoundly changes his outlook, offering him a strange kind of liberation. Before long, he’s considering murder as a way to get what he wants in his personal life and also in terms of his professional ambitions. 

Caine is suitably creepy as a seemingly reasonable man who turns into a killer. Elizabeth McGovern is believable as the naive, admiring girl who ends up getting a little too close to him. And Peter Riegert convinces as the cocky, competent boss who takes the job that Graham assumed was his. 

There’s both a delicious kind of grim black comedy and enough dramatic tension to keep you hooked. The film also makes a point about the difference between the wealthy and the very poor, and between the young and the old. 

The ending isn’t what you might expect, but it does satisfy.

Local Hero (1983)

Directed by Bill Forsyth, this is one of the best films ever – a subtle, heartwarming comedy with great performances and a genuinely touching theme about protecting small communities and the environment.

“Mac” MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) is sent from Knox Oil and Gas in Houston, Texas, to the Scottish village of Ferness to acquire land on which to build an oil refinery. His possibly deranged boss (Burt Lancaster) is obsessed with astronomy and asks Mac to report back on activities in the sky. But when Mac begins to get to know locals such as hotel owner/accountant Gordon (Denis Lawson) and his wife Stella (Jennifer Black), his priorities start to change. 

The Highlands scenery looks beautiful and there are many hilarious moments. They work because the characters are drawn so well. There’s a richness that means you can watch it again and again. And like Danny (Peter Capaldi), it’s difficult not to fall in love with the mermaid-like marine researcher Marina (Jenny Seagrove).