By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Amanda Redman | Ben Kingsley | Cavan Kendall | Ian McShane | Julianne White | Ray Winstone
Country: spain, united_kingdom
Year: 2001
Running time: 89
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0203119
Michael says: “I found this film to be lots of fun, with some really terrific performances and visuals. Basically a caper film with Gal (a terrific Ray Winstone) retired from the business and enjoying the life of leisure in Spain with his wife, DeeDee (Amanda Redman) and his friends, Aitch (Cavan Kendall) and Jackie (Julianne White). The opening scenes showing these four enjoying their lives and then the change when they get a call that shakes them to their collective core were really well done. I got a strong sense of their lives.
“Ben Kingsley plays Don Logan, a tightly wound hood who arrives in Spain to collect Gal for one last job, and he won’t take no for an answer. SEXY BEAST rises above the typical caper film with its fine performances, stunning visuals and central relationship of Gal and DeeDee. Oddly enough, given my squeamishness, the central, rather violent scene sent me into fits
of laughter. Go figure.” 3 1/2 cats
Nathaniel says: “I was really surprised I liked this so much. I had no desire to see it but I ended up there. I HATE heist movies, mafia movies, etc…. but I really thought it did a good job of breathing fresh life into very stale plot lines. Most impressive was the script. It seemed really tight and remarkably incisive about characterizations…. even the minor characters seemed carefully constructed as whole people.”
Laura says: “SEXY BEAST falls somewhere between the best of the genre – THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, for example, and the stylish hijinks of Guy Ritchie’s SNATCH. While Kingsley’s barking madman is the attention getter, it’s Winstone’s paunchy loverboy that has staying power.” 4 cats
For Laura’s complete review: “http://www.reelingreviews.com/sexybeast.htm”
Diane says: “It’s Ben Kingsley’s sadistic turn that the reviewers talk about, but Ray Winstone as Gal, the criminal whom Kingsley lures out of retirement, gives the really amazing perf in this thriller. Three excellent main characters, three excellent minor roles, and surprising dynamics between them make for a very good movie. I love the blaring music that gave a sense of power mixed with dread. Great camerawork, as I believe Laura mentioned. My complaint is that the ‘punchline,’ as it were, was too obvious. So I was hoping there was more complexity to the story that I didn’t understand.”
Robin says: “One thing that SEXY BEAST definitely is, is an enigma. It is, as far as I can tell, a one of a kind, dazzlingly colorful gangster film noir. Music vid and commercial director Jonathan Glazer does make quite a splash (and not just at the film’s funny, offbeat rolling stone opening) with a gangster film that is long on talk and brief, even terse, on caper.” 3 cats
For Robin’s complete review: “http://www.reelingreviews.com/sexybeast.htm”