My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

A young but unemployed Pakistani (Gordon Warnecke) living in South London talks his rich Uncle (Saeed Jaffrey) into letting him manage a small coin laundry in a rundown section of town. He also renews a romance with an old school friend (Daniel Day Lewis), a former right wing street punk. Based on an original screenplay by Hanif Kureishi (whose script was Oscar nominated) and directed by Stephen Frears, LAUNDRETTE takes a look at Thatcher's England, family, culture clash and racial tension while containing one of the most romantic gay love stories on film though that is not the focus of the film. The film manages to be charming while still addressing important and complex issues that plagued Great Britain under Thatcher's umbrella. The film retains the freshness which seemed so original in 1985. The film was also the first of the one-two punch (the other was ROOM WITH A VIEW) that indicated Daniel Day Lewis would soon become one of the great actors of his generation, a promise soon fulfilled. Funny, poignant and genuine. With Shirley Anne Field, Roshan Seth, Derrick Branche and Rita Wolf.