Layer Cake (Widescreen)
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Movie Reviews of Layer Cake (Widescreen)
Movie Review: Chameleon Craig Does a Steve McQueen in Brutal But Sleek Thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
After an art house release everywhere else in the civilized world, LAYER CAKE (LC) unexpectedly premiered in our area, the Lehigh Valley, at the $4 theater in Easton (this joint started as a second-run theater, but it's been getting some acclaimed imports and indies lately, too. Somebody there is a good programmer!). This British import, adapted by J.J. Connolly from his novel, is a taut crime drama that moves with the sleek menace of a tiger. Imagine THE BIG SLEEP with an ever-so slightly more coherent plot and, as its protagonist, a prosperous, wily drug dealer looking to retire after one last score instead of tough but noble private eye Philip Marlowe. Our hero's problem is that he's a careful, calculating businessman in a dicey business where he's surrounded by loose cannons who shoot, stab, or punch first and ask questions later. Director Matthew Vaughn has been best known as Guy Ritchie's producer, but in his directorial debut Vaughn is like Martin Scorsese to Ritchie's Barry Sonnenfeld (that's meant as a compliment to all concerned, I assure you). It helps that Vaughn gets excellent performances from Daniel Craig as our cool but in-over-his-head unnamed antihero (usually films and books that refuse to name their main character strike me as trying too hard to be clever, but it works here), Michael Gambon nearly stealing the show as a cultured but ruthless narcotics kingpin, Colm Meaney and THE INTERPRETER's George Harris as our protagonist's partners in crime, and many folks from Guy Ritchie's films. Sienna Miller doesn't get to do much beyond being eye candy, but she's tasty eye candy indeed. I'm as heterosexual a gal as they come, but after seeing lithe, leggy Miller strip down to black lingerie and garters, I couldn't help thinking, "That Jude Law is one lucky guy!" :-) One of the things I liked about LC is that the protagonist, while thoughtful and competent, is never quite as clever as he thinks he is; somehow everybody manages to be one step ahead of him, if only because they're all so damned unpredictable. Though I've only seen Daniel Craig in three of his many films (the other two were THE ROAD TO PERDITION and THE JACKET), he's clearly one of those actors who never looks or sounds the same from role to role, so if he does indeed end up being Pierce Brosnan's successor as James Bond as rumored, it'll be interesting to see how he fares playing the same character in more than one film! :-) In any case, Craig certainly lives up to the "new Steve McQueen" rep that LC has garnered him. I look forward to seeing what he'll do next. The impressive stash of DVD extras include a making-of doc, a TIME OUT Q&A with Craig and Vaughn, an enjoyable and insightful commentary track by Vaughn and Connolly, the various posters considered, and enough deleted scenes to make a second movie.
Movie Review: Miller's Tale
Summary: 5 Stars
Good showcase for Daniel Craig, but those of you who come to LAYER CAKE hoping to see something of Sienna Miller, beware, she's in it for about 5 minutes despite her prominent placement on the DVD case. However she's nearly naked so that might be worth it for Miller fans. First she appears in a club, acting wild, clumping up and down on the dancefloor while Daniel Craig and his buddies look on. She's more Edie Sedgwick in this than she was as Edie Sedgwick, and introduced to Craig, she leans over him and slips her phone number into his breast pocket. Hugging her naif boyfriend, she mouths "Call me" to Craig, silently, but you could read her lips from fifty miles away. She's not much of a dancer, is she, but who cares.
The plot of LAYER CAKE is extremely convoluted and I expect that few people who watch it will be able to catch all of it. Even J J Connolly, who wrote the novel the movie's based on, and the screenplay, has said that a few of Matthew Vaughan's directorial tricks have left him befuddled and he forgot who did what to whom by the end of the movie. I think he also forgot to give Sienna Miller much of a part. Next time she runs into the film it's to have sex with Daniel Craig, which she begins with great abandon by pushing him down onto a set of satin sheets, then wriggling off of him to run into the bathroom and dress herself even more provocatively, with silk stockings and garter belt, than when she came in. It doesn't take her long, but by the time she gets back into the bedroom Daniel Craig's been kidnapped and stuffed into a laundry cart by two goons masquerading as Room Service. The look on her face is priceless as she surveys the mussed up bed and the empty room, disappointed in love again. "She's quite a ball of fire, isn't she?" my wife commented, with that tone of voice I always decipher as either deep fascination or absolute repulsion.
"I'm not sure what you want me to say," I countered. Finally Sienna Miller returns for her final scene which I won't spoil except by hinting that she begins the scene elated and "up," and ends it with a cry, thus proving she's capable as well as an eternal tabloid grabber. The rest of the picture is a good showcase for Daniel Craig, a sort of Scarface meets Memento.
Movie Review: SLICK GANGSTER THRILLER WITH COLORFUL ACCENTS
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't you love films where the hero is in fact an anti-hero with no name or backstory? Right, nor do I. But this import from the land of pies and porkies is a sparkling romp through the seedy shenanigans of the drug mafia. I see several viewers likening it to Guy Ritchie's black-humor capers, but I suspect that's chiefly attributable to the theme (underworld) and the accents (the many colors of London).
Layer Cake thumps about on its business from the get-go and fritters no time on any buffoonery. Empires clash against rival empires, men are no superstars and bleed when their nose gets punched in, and the scuzzy cat and mouse game leaves little room for escape; only moments of courage, grit, and luck. Luck, most of all.
A pre-Bond Daniel Craig glitters as the glib man-with-the-plan, a rapid social climber in his industry forced to learn the cruel lesson that drug dealing cannot be quite the methodical, low-profile business that he has always wanted it to be. That treachery and even murder are occupational hazards of his world, and yuppie overconfidence its principal sin.
The script is punchy. Non-fat. Memorable lines. The music is pitch-perfect, and lends beautifully to the tension. Expect to have densely exciting layers created and then unraveled as you go along, not knowing exactly what will happen next. Right until the very denouement, which some may find contentious but one that I think installs just the kind of moral hook that seemed to have been missing from the entire film. I've always believed that the ending can make or mar a film, and this one here is a classic.
A fine production, as foxy as they come. What Lord of War was to gun running, this is to the dreary world of drug dealing. Highly recommended purchase. This one will stand to repeat viewings. The special edition DVD also has some excellent outtakes and deleted scenes.
Movie Review: A flawless, impressive, and damn cool crime drama
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought "Layer Cake" for three reasons:
1) I heard it was great.
2) It sounded great.
3) I'm a big James Bond fan, so I thought I'd get an idea of what Daniel Craig will be like.
I had no idea it would be so good.
Daniel Craig plays XXXX - a nameless drug dealer who is preparing to retire. Then the problems just drop in his lap - crime boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) wants the impossible, reckless drug dealer The Duke (Jamie Foreman) is desperate to make cash of his huge collection of pills, and a sly crime boss (Dragan Micanovic) wants XXXX dead. Also, XXXX falls in love with a beautiful blonde (Sienna Miller) and befriends a wise crime boss (Michael Gambon).
The cast is great. Daniel Craig is fantastic - he'll make a very fine, albeit quite different 007. George Harris and Colm Meaney are very good as XXXX's business partners, Morty and Gene. Gambon is especially fine, playing a character quite different from his most popular role, Albus Dumbledore.
Matthew Vaughn, who produced Guy Ritchie's hits "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch.", makes an astounding directorial debut. There's some amazing stuff in here. To me, the most amazing scene of the film involves a murder inside a cafe. It was so unusually filmed and edited, it just blew me away.
The screenplay, by J.J. Connolly from his novel, is absorbing, occasionally funny, and very well-written. There's also an excellent soundtrack, including songs from The Cult and The Rolling Stones and a great score by Ilan Eshkeri & Lisa Gerrard.
"Layer Cake" blew me away. It's certainly one of my favorite films. By all means, see it. It's a flawless, impressive, and damn cool crime drama that ranks among the very best.
Movie Review: A look inside...
Summary: 5 Stars
A drug dealer with retirement on is mind gets thrown a curve-ball when his boss gives him a new job--to find the daughter of a friend. Nothing is what it seems as he finds out his boss has plotted against him and his associates. A game of cat and mouse ensues as he tries to out-think those conspiring against him. In the end it's a sad tale of the criminal underworld and how you can never leave... alive that is.
Colm Meaney has to be one of my favorite Irish actors. Every role he plays he seems to enjoy so much. His role in Star Trek: Next Generation allowed him to come into his own as an actor. The fact that he's still called on to play roles in great movies like Layer Cake is testament to his acting ability. Also, people just like to see him do his thing on-screen. You never know what to expect from him, but you darn sure know it's going to be something unexpected.
Layer Cake should've been released in theaters in the US. It had that big-screen presence to it that exceeds many films that make it but aren't worthy. Funny how the movie business works.
Layer Cake is engrossing and enjoyable to watch. I give it 5 stars for Colm Meaney alone, but the lead has great promise.