Ray Winstone Movies
Frequently cast as a working-class hard man, British actor Ray Winstone gained his first dose of international recognition for his brutal portrayal of an abusive, alcoholic family patriarch in Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth (1997).Born in Hackney, London, on February 19, 1957, Winstone spent much of his youth as an amateur boxer. He first stepped into the ring at the age of 12 and over the course of the next several years won over 80 medals and trophies. Reportedly deciding to give acting a try because he was tired of getting hit, Winstone studied drama for a couple of years at the Corona School. He got his first break when director Alan Clarke cast him in the BBC's televised production of Scum (1977), a harsh depiction of life in a Borstal for young offenders. Due to its content, the film was banned before being released theatrically two years later. Winstone began appearing in other films that same year, notably the Who's Quadrophenia.
Winstone continued to work in both film and television throughout the next decade, doing most of his work in countless TV series. In 1994, he earned strong notices for his starring role in Ken Loach's Ladybird, Ladybird. Three years later, Winstone's harrowing performance in Oldman's Nil by Mouth garnered him a Best Actor BAFTA nomination, as well as recognition on both sides of the Atlantic. He subsequently could be seen in a number of diverse projects, ranging from Face, Antonia Bird's 1997 crime drama, to the romantic comedy Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (1998) to Tim Roth's The War Zone (1999), in which Winstone earned further acclaim as the abusive patriarch of a wildly dysfunctional family. Also in 1999, he could be seen playing a loan shark who gives Anjelica Huston a hard time in Huston's Agnes Browne.
Winstone gained wide international notice for his starring role in 2000's Sexy Beast, holding his own opposite Ben Kingsley, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance. He followed that up with a well-received part in 2001's Last Orders and parlayed his success into a supporting role in Anthony Minghella's 2003 star-studded Civil War drama Cold Mountain. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Casino Royale's Martin Campbell returns to familiar territory with this adaptation of his own 1985 BBC miniseries -- a mystery starring Mel Gibson as a detective looking into his political-activist daughter's death and uncovering layers of governmental conspiracies in the process. William Monahan (The Departed) provides the screenplay for the GK Films production, co-starring Ray Winstone and Danny Huston. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Danny Huston, (more)
The story of fictional18th Century serial killer Sweeny Todd has frightened theater-goers for over a century, and now the BBC brings this blood-soaked story to the small screen in a ghastly production starring Ray Winstone as the razor-wielding Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In addition to exploring the various heinous acts attributed to the London-based butcher, this production also takes a look back at the events that fueled Sweeny Todd's murderous rampage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Essie Davis, (more)
A happily married, self-made man with a beautiful wife and two adoring children is plunged into a nightmarish world of depravity and corruption when he sets out in search of his missing daughter in this border-hopping thriller starring Ray Winstone. Harry Sands' (Ray Winstone) daughter Olivia has disappeared during her stay in Istanbul, and now the desperate father is determined to locate her at any cost. When a discussion with his Olivia's best friend reveals that the pair had been working as nightclub dancers and not charity workers as Harry had been led to believe, a father's worst fears begin to play out as the worst-case scenario suddenly becomes a terrifying reality. Now, as his deepest prejudices boil to the surface and his paranoia reaches a fever pitch, devoted father Harry is about to find out just much torment one man can endure in a search to find his only daughter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The life of one of Great Britain's most influential and feared monarchs is dramatized in this lavish production, originally produced for British television. King Henry VIII (Ray Winstone) is a shrewd but ruthless ruler who is determined to sire a male heir who will succeed him on the throne. However, his wife, Catherine of Aragon (Assumpta Serna), after numerous attempts, is only able to bear him a daughter, so the king takes a mistress, Anne Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter), in hopes she will give him a son. Anne Boleyn cleverly insists that she must wed the king if they are to have a child, and when the Catholic Church forbids Henry's request for a divorce, the king responds by forming his own denomination, the Church of England, which he will oversee himself. One of the king's most trusted advisers, Cardinal Wolsey (David Suchet) attempts to convince Henry that this is folly; Henry sentences him to death, and sends him to the Tower of London to await his sentence. Despite these machinations, Anne Boleyn is unable to give Henry the son he wants, and the king decides she will pay with her life for this failing. As Henry becomes increasingly ruthless in his dealings with those close to him -- as well as other nations -- he leaves a bloody wake as he uses beheading as his favored means of dealing with troublesome wives and untrustworthy allies. The cast also includes Sean Bean, Charles Dance, Emilia Fox, and Emily Blunt; Henry VIII first aired in the United States as part of PBS's award-winning anthology series Masterpiece Theatre. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone
- 2001
A man who wants to give his family the good things in life decides to start stealing them in this dark comedy from England. Robert Martin (Lee Evans) is a working-class loser -- or at least he might be working-class if he had a job -- who is obsessed with entering contests, certain a big prize will finally make its way to him. Robert has entered a sweepstakes hoping to win an all-expenses-paid vacation on the Isle of Man, and when a well-off couple (Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Frank Finlay) are declared the winners, Robert concludes he deserves the prize far more than they do, and decides to simply take it away from them. Martin packs up his long-suffering wife, Angie (Kathy Burke); his strident mother-in-law (Linda Bassett); his 14-year-old daughter, Katie (Terri Dumont), who happens to be pregnant; and his surprisingly well-adjusted eight-year-old son, Little Bob (Eric Byrne), and they head off for the nightmare vacation of a lifetime. Ray Winstone and Mark Strong also appear in the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Evans, Kathy Burke, (more)
- 2000
A boy who dreams of becoming a British soccer star discovers his dreams might not be as far-fetched as they seem in this comedy-drama. Jimmy Grimble (Lewis McKenzie) is a 15-year-old misfit living in Manchester, where nothing seems to go his way. Jimmy is constantly threatened by the school bully, "Gorgeous" Gordon (Bobby Power); he's also not sure what to make of Johnny (Ben Miller), a lost-in-the-ozone biker who is dating Donna (Gina McKee), Jimmy's mom; and he has a crush on one of his classmates, Sara (Samia Ghadie), who seems to like him, but his powers of speech invariably fail him when he tries to talk with her. Like most Mancunians, Jimmy loves football, but instead of rooting for world champions Manchester United, he's a fervent supporter of the Manchester City team. Jimmy also loves to play football, but while Eric (Robert Carlyle), the coach of his school's team, thinks he has potential, "Gorgeous" is already a skilled player, and when Gordon's father informs the school he'll make a large and much-needed donation if their team makes it to the Manchester Schools Cup games, it looks like Jimmy will be riding the bench for a while. But when an old woman gives Jimmy a pair of shoes that once belonged to one of Manchester City's greatest players, his skills on the field begin to change. There's Only One Jimmy Grimble also features Ray Winstone, Jane Lapotaire, and John Henshaw. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone, (more)
Following up on the critical drubbing of the Final Cut, the same cast and crew, TV comedians Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis, along with Britpack hipsters Jonny Lee Miller, Jude Law, Rhys Ifans, and Sadie Frost, come together to make this crime comedy about guns, karaoke, and fart jokes. The film opens with bored postman Jonny (Lee Miller) in clown-face reminiscing about his mate Jude (Law), who introduced him to his crime lord uncle Ray Kreed (Ray Winstone). Though Jonny is hungry for some action, Ray is more interested in karaoke and his impeding nuptials with soap star Sadie (Frost). Bored, Jonny, along with Jude, bungle a credit card scam and then later really screw up by robbing high-grade blow from a South London gang headed by Sean (Sean Pertwee) and his sidekick Matthew (Ifans). Soon a gang war ensues. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sadie Frost, Ray Winstone, (more)
- 2000
Adrian Dunbar starred in this two-part British drama as the ethically challenged Detective Chief Inspector Mike Love. Although Love invariably got results, pulling dozens of vicious criminals off the streets, his methods were, to say the least, questionable, and there was every possibility that he was mired knee-deep in corruption. Thus, Love's superiors launched an inquiry into his activities -- and in an ironic twist, the man leading the investigation was Mike's best friend, Detective Constable Lenny Milton (Ray Winstone). Presented by Granada Television, the two 90-minute episodes of Tough Love were telecast on October 1 and 8, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Dunbar, Ray Winstone, (more)
- 1999
This omnibus film is both a tribute to 1990s Cool Britannia and an opportunity for many of Britain's best actors to step behind the camera. Set in the London's underground (AKA the Tube), the film's nine shorts depict England's most hallowed form of public transportation in wildly divergent manners, from gritty to surreal. Jude Law's "A Bird in the Hand" is a quietly affecting tale about an ailing old man, while "Horny", by Stephen Hopkins is an extended sexual fantasy imagined by a sweaty commuter enduring both the dog days of summer and his obvious arousal. Ewan MacGregor's "Bone" is a fanciful tale about a trombonist and his imagined lover on their way home from a concert, while Bob Hoskins' "My Father the Liar" is an emotionally powerful tale about a child who witnesses a suicide. But perhaps the standout segment from this film is Armando Iannucci's uproarious "Mouth", featuring a beautiful, poised woman vomiting on her fellow commuters set to Bruckner's 9th Symphony. Frank Harper appears in a number of these short works as an overly officious subway staffer. This film premiered at the London Film Festival and was later showed on the UK's BSkyB cable channel. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly MacDonald, Jason Flemyng, (more)
- 1999
British TV screenwriter Kay Mellor debuts with this quirky screwball comedy. The film opens with romance novelist Kate (Kerry Fox) crashing her VW bug into the gleaming Jaguar of car salesman Dave (Ray Winstone), resulting in an insult-barbed screamfest. They both enter the same pub, where they learn that Kate's husband is leaving her for Dave's young buxom wife (his third). The distraught Kate seeks solace and cheer from Andrew (Ben Daniels), her gay actor friend and housemate. When Dave's wife changes the locks, he cuts a deal with Kate, who still intensely dislikes the man: if he can stay in her spare room, she can forget about the outlandishly high bill to repair his damaged Jag. Soon, of course, love blooms when Kate realizes that Dave is no mere car salesman: he is a loving father to his six kids from previous marriages and an avid reader of the classics. Things seem peachy until Dave mysteriously disappears. Fanny and Elvis was screened at the 1999 Dinard Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kerry Fox, Ray Winstone, (more)
- 1998
A man forces his friends to take a long, hard look at themselves in this unconventional British drama. Shortly after the death of Jude (Jude Law), his partner Sadie (Sadie Frost) invites a number of their friends to a wake at her apartment, where they gather to watch footage from a video documentary that Jude had been working on at the time of his death. The guests are shocked to discover that the "documentary" consists of hidden camera footage showing nearly every one of them at their worst. Several of the men are caught snorting cocaine, while another rummages through Sadie's laundry basked for her soiled underwear. Holly (Holly Davidson) takes money from the purse of her friend Lisa (Lisa Marsh), while Holly complains about her unsatisfying sex life with her husband John (John Beckett), who is confined to a wheelchair. John, meanwhile, is caught consorting with a prostitute. Eventually, the long parade of foul images of drug abuse, infidelity, and broken promises concludes with Jude making love with Lisa, which leads to his death at the hands of her husband Ray (Ray Winstone). Final Cut marked the debut of directorial duo Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis, both of whom also act in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Jude Law, (more)
Smalltime racketeer Mark Driscoll (Tim Dutton) returns to his Isle of Man home on the eve of an important bit of economic thievery -- and if he fails by morning to make a substantial deposit into the account of a ruthless gangster, he's going to be English history. But when he gets home to his palatial estate he finds his beautiful wife, Sally (Sherilyn Fenn), in the company of an agitated neighbor, John (Ray Winstone), who has been secretly locking doors and disabling alarms when Sally wasn't looking. Once Mark enters, John makes his intentions ever so gradually clear as he begins a circuitous line of questioning regarding his comatose wife's recent car accident. Before they know it, Mark and Sally are bound, gagged, and forced to listen to a version of the accident that will forever change their lives. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Michael Bray directed this British romantic comedy in which arrogant banker Rupert (Sean Chapman) doesn't know that his girlfriend Alison (Maryam D'Abo) is pregnant. Rupert promises to return on the same day from a Barcelona business trip, but the plane is re-routed to Madrid, where he's forced to share a room with a working-class chap, Charles (Ray Winstone). It's a tense twosome since he chose to chew out Charles on the plane. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maryam D'Abo, Sean Chapman, (more)
- 1997
Recalling The Sweet Hereafter, this drama explores how a working-class couple manages to carry on after the accidental death of their only son. On the same night police find stolen goods in the east London house of construction worker Woody (Ray Winstone) and Sonia (Pauline Quirke), the two are concerned when their eight-year-old son Lee doesn't come home from school. At the police station, Woody learns Lee died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver. Woody and Sonia are at a loss to deal with this emotionally draining event that alters their lives. Shown at the 1997 Dinard Festival of British Cinema (France) and the 1997 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Pauline Quirke, (more)
- 1986
This made-for-television drama is a two-hour movie from the Britain's Robin of Sherwood series. Michael Praed stars as the legendary Robin Hood, possessor of one of the seven sought-after Swords of Wayland. In this installment, Robin defends himself against a coven of witches posing as nuns. New-age music pioneers Clannad provide the soundtrack music. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1984
In this conventional, formulaic tale about a nonchalant snooker (pool, British style) hustler who is conned into competing in a national championship, good ensemble acting carries the story beyond its predictable evolution. Bob Geldof is Harry (Flash) Gordon, the snooker player who hustles games in low-end London halls, picking up a little cash here and there and also getting into occasional trouble. Nevertheless, he is more or less content with his life and his girlfriend (a prostitute who loves him) until promoter Billy Evans (Mel Smith) comes along and convinces him to leave the penny-ante and troubles behind and compete in a national championship for real money. Big stakes create bigger headaches, and by the time the final game is set to be played, Gordon is faced with a decision to either save his skin and give in to pressure to throw the game, or stick to his scruples and play the best he can. For foreign, including American English speakers, the accents in the snooker halls may leave them a little linguistically snookered at first. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Smith, Alison Steadman, (more)
- 1979
In this British drama, a teenager gets out of reform school and heads for a seaside vacation with three friends. Their fun is interrupted by a gang of Scottish punks who come to cause trouble. The two groups tangle, but eventually the hero is able to prove to his girl that he is a good fellow and win her heart. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Tony London, (more)
Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South Boston organized crime scene and inspired by the wildly popular 2002 Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly powerful Irish mafia, authorities are faced with the prospect of sending in an undercover agent or seeing their already frail grip on the criminal underworld slip even further. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young cop looking to make a name for himself in the world of law enforcement. Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a street-smart criminal who has successfully infiltrated the police department with the sole intention of reporting their every move to ruthless syndicate head Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). When Costigan is assigned the task of working his way into Costello's tightly guarded inner circle, Sullivan is faced with the responsibility of rooting out the informer before things get out of hand. With the stakes constantly rising and time quickly running out for the undercover cop and his criminal counterpart, each man must work feverishly to reveal his counterpart before his identity is exposed by the other. Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Ray Winstone co-star, and writer William Monahan adapts a screenplay originally penned by Alan Mak and Felix Chong. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, (more)
A petty thief is the link between a well-to-do businessman and a single mother struggling to get by in his edgy, emotional drama. Will Francis (Jude Law) is a successful landscape architect who runs an upscale business with his friend Sandy (Martin Freeman) in the King's Cross section of London, a neighborhood that has long been plagued by crime and poverty but has lately become the target of a major gentrification program. Will's longtime girlfriend is Liv (Robin Wright Penn), a lovely woman troubled by a lack of communication between herself and her husband and emotional problems with their teenage daughter, Bea (Poppy Rogers), who can't sleep and is obsessed with gymnastics. A thief has broken into Will and Sandy's office not once but twice, taking Will's laptop and the company's computer equipment, and Will begins spending his evenings at the shop in hopes of catching the culprit in action. The burglar strikes a third time, and while giving chase, Will sees him make his way into a shabby apartment building. Will learns the criminal is Miro (Rafi Gavron), a 15-year-old refugee from Bosnia. Without revealing what he knows, Will makes the acquaintance of Amira (Juliette Binoche), Miro's widowed mother -- a Bosnian refugee who makes a living as a seamstress. As Will starts bringing Amira business on a regular basis, the two begin an affair which continues even as Will maintains his relationship with Liv. Breaking and Entering was written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella; it was his first project made from his own original script since Truly, Madly, Deeply in 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, (more)
An outlaw is goaded into taking on justice at its most brutal in this hard-edged Western set in rural Australia in the 1880s. Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) is a criminal living in the outback. He and his two brothers, Arthur (Danny Huston) and Mikey (Richard Wilson), are on the run from the law for rape and murder. Arthur is a violent and dangerous sociopath with a much longer rap sheet than his siblings and a reputation for hiding out in villages so lawless the police are afraid to visit them, while Mikey is a much younger and more impressionable chap.
The authorities capture Charlie and Mikey after a bloody shootout, and the brothers are handed over to Capt. Stanley (Ray Winstone), a British lawman sent to Australia to help bring order to the colonies. Stanley proposes a deal to Charlie, explaining that it's Arthur he really wants, and that he's willing to spare the childlike and terrified Mikey if Charlie can find Arthur and murder him. Charlie, realizing that this is his only hope to save his simpleton younger brother (who is scheduled to be hanged on Christmas Day), agrees and sets out to find and execute his other brother, who he believes has gone too far into the world of crime. As Charlie scours the backwaters of Australia, he encounters Jellon Lamb (John Hurt), an educated yet thoroughly menacing bounty hunter. In time, Charlie finds his brother, but isn't certain if he can carry out his mission. Meanwhile, Stanley struggles to bring a European sense of civility to the rough and tumble land he now calls home, while his wife Martha (Emily Watson) becomes the focus of the lustful appetites of the men in town. The Proposition was written by rock star and novelist Nick Cave; he previously collaborated with director John Hillcoat on the film Ghosts... of the Civil Dead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The authorities capture Charlie and Mikey after a bloody shootout, and the brothers are handed over to Capt. Stanley (Ray Winstone), a British lawman sent to Australia to help bring order to the colonies. Stanley proposes a deal to Charlie, explaining that it's Arthur he really wants, and that he's willing to spare the childlike and terrified Mikey if Charlie can find Arthur and murder him. Charlie, realizing that this is his only hope to save his simpleton younger brother (who is scheduled to be hanged on Christmas Day), agrees and sets out to find and execute his other brother, who he believes has gone too far into the world of crime. As Charlie scours the backwaters of Australia, he encounters Jellon Lamb (John Hurt), an educated yet thoroughly menacing bounty hunter. In time, Charlie finds his brother, but isn't certain if he can carry out his mission. Meanwhile, Stanley struggles to bring a European sense of civility to the rough and tumble land he now calls home, while his wife Martha (Emily Watson) becomes the focus of the lustful appetites of the men in town. The Proposition was written by rock star and novelist Nick Cave; he previously collaborated with director John Hillcoat on the film Ghosts... of the Civil Dead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, (more)
Based on the novel by Charles Frazier, Anthony Minghella's star-studded Cold Mountain is a sweeping tale set in the final days of the American Civil War. Jude Law stars as Inman, a young soldier who, despite an injury, is struggling to make his way home to Cold Mountain, NC, where his beloved Ada (Nicole Kidman) awaits. In Inman's absence, Ada befriends Ruby (Renée Zellweger), who helps her keep up her late father's farm. Meanwhile, in his travels, Inman encounters a menagerie of interesting folks. Also starring Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, and Philip Seymore Hoffman, Cold Mountain features original music by Jack White of the White Stripes. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, (more)
The cool and mannered sociopath Tom Ripley returns to the big screen in director Liliana Cavani's 2002 crime thriller Ripley's Game, adapted from the 1974 novel by Patricia Highsmith. Living a life of luxury as an art dealer in northern Italy with his musician wife Luisa (Chiara Caselli), Ripley (John Malkovich) attends a party thrown by Jonathan Trevanny (Dougray Scott) and overhears the host making critical comments about Ripley's fashion sense. Enraged, Ripley immediately plots his retaliation for this slight, which comes via a reunion with his former business partner Reeves (Ray Winstone). Reeves seeks out Ripley's help in finding an unrecognized assassin to kill a Russian gangster, and Ripley suggests he talk to Trevanny -- whom Ripley knows has recently been diagnosed with leukemia and is also desperately strapped for cash. Trevanny reluctantly accepts the offer, in order to insure his family's security -- but is pressured into a repeat performance, which draws the ire of Ripley. The situation quickly spirals out of control to the point of drawing the attention -- and anger -- of the Russian mob, forcing Ripley to intervene. But the master criminal also develops a respect for his unwitting victim, forming an unlikely friendship under the most dire of circumstances. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, (more)
