Apart from that, the best American films were political (Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, The New World) or very personal (Little Miss Sunshine, Little Children, The Squid and the Whale). In the States, M Night Shyamalan of The Sixth Sense fame fell flat on his over-confident face with Lady in the Water, but Martin Scorsese's The Departed was his best for years, and he was with Jack Nicholson at last. In addition the gifted Mexican Alfonso Cuaron came here to make the dystopian thriller Children of Men Two young directors made confident debuts, both offering a jaundiced view of contemporary Britain: Andrea Arnold's Red Road and Paul Andrew Williams's London to Brighton. Six of our well-established directors have made highly individual films of real distinction: Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story, Ken Loach's Palme d'Or winner The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, Stephen Frears's The Queen, Paul Greengrass's United 93 and Nicholas Hytner's The History Boys. This has been an outstanding year for British cinema.
