Sexy Beast
| Sexy Beast | |
|---|---|
 original film poster | |
| Written by | Louis Mellis David Scinto |
| Produced by | Jeremy Thomas |
| Starring | Ray Winstone]] Ben Kingsley Amanda Redman Ian McShane |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures (USA) |
Release dates | September 13, 2000 (Toronto Film Festival premiere) |
Running time | 89 min. |
| Language | English |
Sexy Beast (2000) is a British film directed by Jonathan Glazer, starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley and Ian McShane. It was Glazer's debut feature film, having previously been a director of music videos such as the acclaimed "Rabbit In Your Headlights" for British electronic group U.N.K.L.E..
The film earned Kingsley an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. In 2004 the magazine Total Film named Sexy Beast the 15th greatest British film of all time.
Story
Template:Spoiler Ex-con and expert safe-cracker Gary 'Gal' Dove (Ray Winstone) has served his time behind bars and has blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores, Deedee (Amanda Redman). He is joined as well by his long-time friend Aitch (Cavan Kendall) and his wife, Jackie (Julianne White). The idyll is shattered by the arrival of an old criminal associate, the psychopathic mobster Don Logan (Ben Kingsley), intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job. Desperate not to sacrifice his enchanted existence, Dove is drawn into a shocking and explosive battle of wills with Logan, a battle that redefines his notions of love, honour, and commitment.
Logan is backed by deviant gang boss Teddy Bass (Ian McShane), who, after an extreme and bizarre coupling with banker Harry (James Fox), has decided to pull a job on Harry's highly secure (and well furnished) bank vault. With a crew of dedicated criminals on-side, Teddy is determined to have Gal along for the ride--hence, Don Logan. Logan, however, has his own agenda. In Spain, he terrorises the quartet and what was a mission from the top has become a personal vendetta against Gal's happiness.
Notes
- On the Region 1 DVD commentary for the movie, Kingsley summarized Logan's character as "the unhappiest man in the world".
- Kingsley based his performance in part on his grandmother, whom he described as "an extremely violent and unpleasant woman." [1]
- This film was the final screen role of Cavan Kendall
Critics
The film has received praise from critics for its excellent performances and characterisation, which lift it above the conventions of the standard British gangster caper. It maintains a "Generally Favourable" rating of 79 at Metacritic and received high praise from writers at the San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, Slate, Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times, but it was panned by the Washington Post as "Ben Kingsley spraying saliva-lubricated variants of the F-word into the atmosphere like anti-aircraft fire for 10 solid minutes." It was also described as "massively uneven" by Variety.
However, almost all critics have agreed that Ben Kingsley's performance is a shining example of diverse acting ability and a show-stealer, though Ray Winstone and, to a lesser extent, Ian McShane, have been similarly cheered on for their work in the film. McShane, in particular, has been noted as the real 'beast' of the film, intimated in the above-mentioned SF Chronicle review.