When it comes to historical dramas, Colin Firth gets a solid ten out of ten. Firth, despite having an Italian passport, is a British institution. He’ll soon be returning in theatres, co-starring with fellow Oscar winner Olivia Coleman in Empire of Light. Here are seven of his most important performances until then.
1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Director- Tomas Alfredson
Control, the director of British intelligence in the early 1970s during the Cold War, resigns following a botched mission in Budapest, Hungary. Control suspected one of four top figures in the agency was a Russian agent, and the Hungary operation was an attempt to figure out who it was. After Control’s departure, George Smiley was forced to retire, but a high government official asks him to look into a report relayed to him by renegade Agent Ricky Tarr about a mole. Smiley believes the failure of the Hungary operation, as well as the continued success of Operation Witchcraft, proves this, and sets out to find him.
2. Love Actually (2003)
Director- Richard Curtis
Various parts of the all-powerful Eros combine as the throaty, sensual voice of the season’s supreme star and famous rocker, Billy Mack, and his sumptuous Christmas take on The Troggs’ smash song, “Love Is All Around,” blasts the already festive and beautiful London. With only five weeks until Christmas Eve, vivid vignettes of Cupid’s shenanigans unfold, as the stories of love-smitten boys, secret admirers, philandering husbands, heartbroken authors, widowed fathers, and the Yuletide plight of a desperate, lovesick British Prime Minister interweave, forming a magnificent panorama of love in all its forms. Love, on the other hand, is powerful, eternal, and supreme.
3. Bridget Jone’s Diary (2001)
Director- Sharon Maguire
Bridget Jones is a typical woman who is battling her age, weight, job, lack of a man, and several flaws. Bridget makes a New Year’s Resolution to take charge of her life, beginning with a diary in which she would always tell the truth. When her charming but shady boss develops an interest in the eccentric Miss Jones, the fireworks begin. Bridget’s group of slightly odd friends, as well as a rather nasty acquaintance, are thrown into the mix.
4. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Director- Joe Wright
Mrs. Bennet raises her five daughters – Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia – in Georgian England with the goal of marrying a wealthy husband who will provide for the family. They are not of the upper class, and if Mr. Bennet dies, their house in Hertfordshire will pass to a distant cousin. When the wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley and his best friend Mr. Darcy arrive in town to spend the summer in a mansion near their property, the shy and beautiful Jane falls in love with Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth finds Mr. Darcy a snobbish and proud man whom she swears to despise for the rest of her life. This is where their amazing love journey begins.
5. Supernova (2020)
Director- Harry Macqueen
Partners, musician Sam and writer Tusker Mulliner, travel across England in their campervan with only their dog for companionship to the Lake District. The lovely environment provides a welcome distraction for a couple dealing with Tusker’s dementia diagnosis. Things only become worse when Sam discovers Tusker is concealing two secrets while at a family gathering. The first is that he has lost his ability to write, and the second is that he is contemplating suicide. Sam is on the verge of losing everything he’s ever cared about.
6. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Director- Matthew Vaughn
Agent Harry “Galahad” Hart of the Kingsman Secret Service assists troublemaker Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, the son of an Agent who saved Harry and his team’s lives seventeen years ago by sacrificing himself. Eggsy is invited to apply for a position as a new Agent at the agency, and he is taught by Agent Merlin and competes against other candidates. Meanwhile, the Kingsmen are looking into the industrialist Valentine, a technological prodigy who is hatching a lethal plan with his aide Gazelle to save the Earth from global warming by chipping the majority of the people and rescuing just those he chooses.
7. The King’s Speech (2010)
Director- Tom Hooper
The Duke of York stammers and has problems speaking in public in 1925. His wife, Elizabeth, seeks treatment from speech therapist Lionel Logue, who uses alternative methods and has an uncommon relationship, and Bertie drops out after the first day. However, after listening to Lionel’s session, Bertie returns to the treatment. Due to the abdication of his older brother, King Edward VIII, the Duke of York is compelled to assume the throne of the United Kingdom as King George VI in the mid-1930s. Following this, there is a government crisis, and Britain declares war on Germany.
