It was not until 1984 that Frears would work on another project intended specifically for theatrical release. During this interval, he worked continuously in TV, refining his craft while developing a reputation for workmanlike efforts and an ability to get along with both writers and actors. Frears returned to feature filmmaking with "The Hit" (1984), a taut, well-crafted thriller which, like "Gumshoe,” provided an interesting twist to the crime genre. Terence Stamp played an informer living out his days in Spain, with John Hurt as a hard-boiled hit man hired to take him back to Paris to receive his comeuppance from the crime boss he had snitched on. This downbeat film regarded its characters and their predicaments with a biting sense of humor, a quality which has marked all of Frears' films.
With "My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985), shot in 16mm on a budget of only $900,000 for British television, Frears achieved a breakthrough. Working with writer Hanif Kureishi, the director portrayed the effects of racism and underemployment on working-class London through the eyes of a young Pakistani attempting to carve his own place in the world. The next Kureishi/Frears effort, "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid" (1987), dealt with these same themes in a multi-layered look at the social relations revolving around a liberal, educated, mixed-race couple (Pakistani and upper-middle-class British) living in a poor section of London. Though the themes were not explored to their fullest, the rich visuals and good performances made for an entertaining film that exposed many of the inequities of British society.
Between these two efforts, Frears directed Alan Bennett's adaptation of John Lahr's biography of playwright Joe Orton, who was brutally murdered at the height of his fame by his longtime lover and roommate Ken Halliwell. Rather than a standard biography, "Prick Up Your Ears" (1987) concentrated mainly on the relationship of these two men as a study of marriage gone tragically sour. In 1988, Frears fulfilled his longtime wish to work in the Hollywood system, a move he hoped would broaden his potential while providing greater financial rewards. "Dangerous Liaisons,” an adaptation of Christopher Hampton's play (which itself was based on Choderlos de Laclos' 18th-century novel), displayed the customary Frears trademarks: good performances and witty dialogue. But it was also his most glossy, stylized film, lacking the conviction and force of his earlier efforts.
As if in response to this, Frears' next Hollywood outing, "The Grifters" (1990), retained the stylization (a timeless Southern California floating somewhere between the 1950s and the 80s), but added the grittiness that had informed his British features. Adapted from the novel by Jim Thompson and starring John Cusack, Annette Bening, and Anjelica Huston, the film garnered critically acclaim and confirmed Frears' bankable status in Hollywood, capped by a Best Director Oscar nomination. He followed with "Hero" (1992), a lightweight Capraesque fable about the power of the media and the nature of heroism. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis and Andy Garcia, the film received some positive reviews but fizzled at the box office. Moreover, it broke little new ground for the director who reportedly clashed on set with star Hoffman.
Frears had better luck when he returned to England to direct "The Snapper" (1993). Based on a novel by Roddy Doyle and made for British television, this film was a sequel to Alan Parker's "The Commitments" (1991) centering on an Irish working-class family coping with the teenager daughter's pregnancy. It featured a literate script and strong performances, particularly from Colm Meaney as the father confused by circumstances. Frears directed the third installment "The Van" (1996), again starring Meaney, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Before its release, however, the helmer had spent almost two years on "Mary Reilly" (1996). Adapted from Valerie Martin's novel that recounted the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde story from the point of view of a parlor maid, "Mary Reilly" opened to lackluster box office and harsh reviews, with critics carping over the miscast Julia Roberts as Mary and John Malkovich as Jekyll/Hyde.
"The Hi-Lo Country" (1998) reunited Frears with producers Barbara De Fina and Martin Scorsese from "The Grifters" and revealed the director completely at home with the Western genre. Overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility studio money entailed, he insisted the movie be made as an independent and successfully grafted film noir onto the Western, benefiting from a superb, charismatic turn by Woody Harrelson as the "last real cowboy". Keeping to his penchant for variety, Frears next helmed "High Fidelity" (2000), a quirky comedy exploring the romantic misfortunes of its main character. John Cusack starred in a fearless and ferociously funny performance, as well as co-adapting and remaining faithful to Brit writer Nick Hornby's excellent source material, despite switching the London locale to Chicago. The director continued to push the envelope in his career by making his American TV debut at the helm of a live small screen remake of "Fail Safe". The two-hour, black-and-white CBS project was a personal project for producer-star George Clooney and although Frears did yeoman work, capturing the drama's inherent suspense, it proved too old-fashioned to audiences raised on the razzmatazz of MTV.
Frears surprised Hollywood with his next career move, heading back to Europe to direct the French film "Liam" (2000) which chronicled the effects of Liverpool's Depression on the family of sprightly, if stuttering, 8-year-old (Anthony Borrows). He remained in Europe to make the dark, critically-trumpeted morality meditation "Dirty Pretty Things" (2003) featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Audrey Tatou as immigrants caught up in the shadowy secrets of a hotel's black market underbelly. Frears next made the rare jump to television, directing the made-for-British-television movie “The Deal” (Channel Four, 2003), a political drama that focused on the relationship between England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) and their eventual fallout when Blair dishonored an agreement made between the two allies. Frears won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Single Drama in 2003, an honor shared with producers Christine Langan and Peter Morgan.
Back in the feature world, Frears directed Dame Judi Dench in “Mrs. Henderson Presents” (2005), a moving and amusing story about a recent widow (Dench) of considerable wealth and connections whose dissatisfaction with the prospect of a quiet, lonely life prompts her to buy a theatre. Wary of the local competition, she introduces naked dancing girls, much to the delight of patrons and dismay of the government, which fights to shut the theatre down. Though known for its typically strong performance from Dench, “Mrs. Henderson Presents” did earn Frears a 2005 Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Frears again found himself the recipient of critical adulation for his next film, “The Queen” (2006), a quiet and richly textured look at Queen Elizabeth II (an excellent Helen Mirren) during her struggle to publicly mourn the death of Princess Diana in 1997. Newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen again) privately and publicly battles Her Majesty to in some way honor Diana despite the Queen’s strict adherence to tradition to mourn the death in private. Mirren was hailed by critics and bestowed various awards for her strong, nuanced performance, while Frears quietly earned his own recognition, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director – Motion Picture. Though he was passed over for perennial Hollywood Foreign Press Association favorite Martin Scorsese, Frears went on to earn his second Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards.