‘Under The Skin’ voted best British film of the 21st century in critics poll

Under The Skin has been named the best British film of the 21st century in a critics poll.

Conducted by MASSIVE Cinema, the poll consisted of 60 film reviewers from national newspapers, leading film magazines and freelance critics. Any British film released from January 1 2000 was eligible, with 179 films receiving at least one vote.

Directed by Jonathan Glazer, Under The Skin starred Scarlett Johansson as a shape-shifting alien who drives around Glasgow to prey on unsuspecting men. It was released in 2014 and was deemed a box office failure, yet was critically acclaimed at the time.

Director Lynne Ramsay took two spots within the top ten, with 2002’s Movern Callar ranked at number two while 2018’s You Were Never Really Here starring Joaquin Phoenix placed ninth.

Paddington 2, Fish Tank and The Souvenir completed the top five, followed by This Is England, The Favourite and Children Of Men respectively.

You can check out the top 20 films as voted by critics below. You can check out a list of the top 100 here.

1. Under the Skin (2013) dir. Jonathan Glazer
2. Morvern Callar (2002) dir. Lynne Ramsay
3. Paddington 2 (2017) dir. Paul King
4. Fish Tank (2009) dir. Andrea Arnold
5. The Souvenir (2019) dir. Joanna Hogg
6. This Is England (2006) dir. Shane Meadows
7. The Favourite (2018) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
8. Children of Men (2006) dir. Alfonso Cuaron
9. You Were Never Really Here (2018) dir. Lynne Ramsay
10. God’s Own Country (2017) dir. Francis Lee
11. Shame (2011) dir. Steve McQueen
12. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) dir. Lynne Ramsay
13. Ex Machina (2014) dir. Alex Garland
14. Rocks (2020) dir. Sarah Gavron
15. Sexy Beast (2000) dir. Jonathan Glazer
16. Shaun of the Dead (2004) dir. Edgar Wright
17. Lovers Rock (2020) dir. Steve McQueen
18. Hunger (2008) dir. Steve McQueen
19. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) dir. Gurinder Chadha
20. The Souvenir Part II (2022) dir. Joanna Hogg

Under The Skin is director Glazer’s third feature film, following 2000’s Sexy Beast and Birth released in 2004.

In October 2019, it was reported (via IndieWire) that Glazer was working on his next film, described as a Holocaust drama, with A24. It’s believed to be set in the Auschwitz concentration camp and is loosely based on British author Martin Amis’s novel ‘The Zone Of Interest’. A release date has yet to be announced.

Glazer previously directed music videos for Massive Attack, Blur, Radiohead, Richard Ashcroft and Jamiroquai.