One of the gang

The draft board insisted on testing Derek for epilepsy instead of accepting his doctor's note. Chris was very good at faking a seizure.

Chris's first film. He was cast partially on the basis of being unknown. It's based on the true story of a young man hanged for a murder he didn't commit.

Review
I cried for a good 15 minutes at the end of this, and probably would have kept on if I'd been alone. It was incredible. Even knowing how it would end, I cried "No!" when the judge reached for the black cap, and begged for someone to show the mercy the jury recommended, for someone to change the outcome. Afterwards, I had to go online to find out if the verdict had been overturned in the 15 years since this film was made (it had at last, in 1998, after a 45-year crusade by his family). 

Chris's role
Derek Bentley suffered from epilepsy as a result of a WWII bombing, and at the age of 19 had an estimated mental age of 11.
Chris went against the director's intentions in this film. The director wanted to garner maximum sympathy by showing Derek as a sweet, innocent child, but Chris insisted on playing him as a real person, with real issues, and at least a little guilt of his own. I don't think this movie would have been anywhere near as good if we only saw the main character as a poster child.

Dedication to the truth is one of this things I love about Chris.

But nothing can change the fact that Derek Bentley was killed, and was innocent. His friend murdered a cop, but the law murdered him.

Candy
I almost hesitate to include this section when he was playing a real person, and one who deserved a lot more dignity than he ever got, but the truth is, Chris looked very good in this. At times he reminded me of Johnny Depp or David Boreanaz , but in a good way.
Aside from two wardrobe issues (suspenders over a sweater vest, and a light blue jacket that emphasized his wide shoulders and hid his narrow waist). He often had hair in his face. His expressions were always sincere, whether a smile, a nervous shrug, or a sad goodbye to Mom from jail.
Also, there's a scene in which he's doing pushups in a tank top.
 

Chris wrote with his off hand to sign the farewell letter because Derek couldn't write well.

on trial

led to execution

An adaptation of a play that was very popular in 1607, now set in post-apocalyptic Liverpool.

Review
I fell in love with this film within the first two minutes, before Chris even appeared. I loved it just as much if not more the second time I watched it. Maybe it was the amazingly beautiful soundtrack by Chumbawamba. Maybe it was the visuals: a satellite view of the UK with the southeast lost in water, then the “Liverpool - please drive carefully” sign, followed by the bus sliding into view and crashing into a pile of trash…

It only gets better. Cut inside the bus, where everyone is dead, or almost everyone...
 

Then a hand grabs a rail, and Chris pulls himself into view, gets off the bus, and starts shaving his head while walking...

...taking a brief break to beat up some thugs who think he’s from London (and without any martial arts training!).

I’ve mentioned the unbelievable soundtrack and visuals. Colorful sets, both literally and figuratively. Lots of great acting, too; the costar is Eddie Izzard, and Derek Jacobi also has a significant role. The script is mostly the original text, with some words changed to match the setting, and some new lines that completely drop the style of the play and often include foul language.

And it’s funny! The play was considered the work of a lunatic for a while, but recently critics decided it was actually meant to be a black comedy, and they identified the anonymous writer as Thomas Middleton. I should think the choice of character’s names – basically, descriptions of them in Italian – would have made it obvious this was meant to be funny.

Chris’s role
Vindici, who has come home after years in hiding (descriptions say ten, but never is the number mentioned in the dialog) to avenge the murder of his wife at their wedding.

He’s mad as a hatter, though he manages to contain it until he actually starts planning the murder of the killer (with the assistance of his brother and sister).

He does care about the living, too; while plotting revenge, he also has to protect his sister from unwanted attention from his own employer.

Candy
Same buzz cut as in Doctor Who (if I'd seen this first, I might not have been so surprised at his look); tears; the fight scene that shows off his agility; long black coat (belongs to the director, and I think it’s the same one he wore in Death and the Compass, below); interview on the DVD in which Chris is all excited, curled up on a couch, playing with his lack of hair and Vindici’s wedding ring (sorry I haven't got any screen captures for you!).

 

not Doctor Who

Vindici, his brother Carlo, and his sister Castiza

Vindici barges into Lussurioso's car, which was usually occupied by his brothers, Ambitioso, Supervacuo, Spurio... and Junior.

Gloriana and Vindici,  before and after

Vindici  the  mad

24 Hour Party People A not-quite-documentary about the music scene in Manchester from 1976 to 1992. It’s a lot like This Is Spinal Tap, with a bit of The Doors because it’s mostly a true story and has a sad ending halfway through (yes, I know exactly what I just said). “I believe it was F. Scott Fitzgerald who said, ‘American lives don’t have second acts.’ But this is Manchester. We do things differently here.”  - Tony Wilson Review Funny, engaging, great music, made me want to learn more about the real people in the story, and worth every cent I spent to rent it even though…

Candy
Despite the short duration of the role, the damp, stringy hair, and the red lighting, he looked pretty darn good. Intense soliloquy shouted in a benefactor’s wake, with an exaggerated accent.

He gives her the Bible quote about virtuous women, and she calls him ugly.

This is another case in which the film belongs to the female lead; here it’s Renee Zellweger. She plays a New York Jew dissatisfied with her marriage and her religion. Her brother-in-law offers her a chance to expand her horizons through a job in his jewelry shop, but to keep it, she has to shag him whenever he asks.

Review
Very good; certainly better than its poor showing at the box office would suggest. Well worth seeing in its own right, not just for Chris.

Chris’s role
The sleazy brother-in-law. He actually likes to brag about his sins, to those he dares to tell, that is, and she’s one he dares to tell.

Candy
Not a lot, in truth; this film was largely unflattering to Chris. The requisite beard hid too much of his face, and the requisite accent sounded too much like Billy Crystal. Some sex but no nudity (well, not Chris, anyway); the only sex scene that was actually sexy was the first one, because he took the time to kiss and touch her a bit before just banging away, and I think she needed it badly enough that she seemed to be having a good time.

"Now I'm free," she said in the end.
And by the subtle little smile you can't even see here, I'm inclined to conclude that's what he really wanted all along.

A zombie movie brought to us by the producer and director of Shallow Grave, but with a different writer.

Review
John Hodge was a necessary ingredient in the fantastic films Boyle and MacDonald put out before this. It just wasn’t up to par. Good for what it is, I suppose, but not on my list of top horror films.

Chris’s role
Major West. I called his group “the evil army guys.” He should have known better than to tell a bunch of soldiers they needed women for the survival of humanity; of course they took it as licence to rape.
I hated this character. Absolutely hated him. But the first time I saw this movie, I didn’t even recognize Chris (it didn’t help that Cilian Murphy looked so much like David Stephens… ok, I’m ashamed, but it’s the truth…), so in retrospect I think I’d be more inclined, were I the female lead, to try to cut a deal with him…

The car-stealing action film with Nicolas Cage. Yes, Chris was actually in that, though he said he only took the role out of boredom.

Review: Not the best action flick, but surprisingly funny, and I did get into the story.

Chris’s role: The crime lord Raymond Calitri, who forces Nick Cage’s character to steal 50 cars for him or watch his brother (who had already failed the job) die. He loves wood (so why is he in the stolen car business? I don’t know) and actually makes furniture, and a coffin to drive his point home about the brother. Not a lot of depth, or a lot of screen time. Suave but scary.

Candy: He gets to hit Nick Cage (and then get beaten up by him); panic attack when Nick breaks his latest woodworking project; tirade about why he hates the US; death scene (and we know how Chris enjoys those).

A sci-fi film about a virtual reality game.

Review: Fantastic ending, but to get to it, you have to sit through a lot of bad performances by a lot of good actors. There's a reason this is at the bottom of the list.

Chris’s role: “I had a lot to do in that first scene in the church, but I thought the character was boring.” That's all I'm going to say.

Candy: Well, he’s in it… I guess that’s something. And the incredibly lucky Jude Law got to hold him when he got shot.