‘This Happy Breed’: The underrated movie Ray Winstone watches “all the time”
The beginning of Ray Winstone’s career was steeped in controversy after he accepted the lead role in Scum, a television play directed by Alan Clarke. He played a young offender living in a borstal in desperate need of reform, engaging in many violent acts that resulted in immediate censorship. The play wasn’t shown on television for over a decade later, but Clarke subsequently recruited Winstone to reprise the role for a feature film version, which was just as brutal.
Winstone’s terrific performance was praised, and he went on to star in a series of other acclaimed films like Quadrophenia, Ladies and Gentlemen…The Fabulous Stains and Ladybird, Ladybird. He appeared in a few particularly hard-hitting dramas during the late ‘90s, such as Gary Oldman’s Nil By Mouth and Tim Roth’s The War Zone, establishing himself as a bold actor, unafraid to take on particularly challenging and emotionally taxing roles.
He earned further acclaim when he featured in Jonathan Glazer’s directorial debut, Sexy Beast, playing an ex-criminal. Known for his Cockney accent and tough guy appearance, Winstone often plays the roles of gangsters, convicts and aggressive men, but he has also played more lighthearted parts, such as voicing a beaver in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
He’s loved movies since he was young, becoming so enamoured by acting that he swapped out boxing rings for stages and studios. Ever since, Winstone has often portrayed unmistakably ‘hard’ British characters, using his Cockney accent and background as a boxer to his advantage.
On an episode of Brett Goldstein’s podcast, Films to be Buried With, Winstone talked about a film that reminds him of Britain the most, specifically the London he grew up in, ravaged by war. Discussing This Happy Breed, he explained, “I watch it all the time when it comes on; I can’t miss it.”
The film, directed by David Lean – who also helmed Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago – was released in 1944. Based on a Noël Coward play of the same name, the film chronicles the lives of a family grappling with the end of World War One and the imminent rise of World War Two. It’s a heartbreaking watch, one that is even more fascinating due to the fact it was released before the Second World War was even over.
“It’s about London before, during, and after the war,” Winstone explains, adding, “You just look back, I mean, in houses that we used to live in when I was a kid – I was born in 1957 – so 12 years after the Second World War. We lived around bombed houses.” For Winstone, the film is bizarrely nostalgic, even though he wasn’t alive during the wars. Still, he was a witness to the aftershock, which affected his upbringing, which, in turn, helped shape his approach to his acting career.
“It just reminds me of Britain, England, especially London, when I was a kid. To be honest, I miss that. Just this thing of this family breaking up and having to move away, it just absolutely breaks my heart,” he added. This Happy Breed was well-received at the time, although it remains overshadowed by bigger classics in Lean’s filmography.