Sexy Beast | Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley

Sexy Beast | Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley | I won't let you be happy

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Sexy Beast

	Sexy Beast Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley 20th Century Fox, 2002 average customer review:based on 165 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Riveting in his intensity, Ben Kingsley delivers "his best performance ever" (Premiere Magazine) in this high-voltage crime thriller that crackles with chilling style and wit. A savage gangstere name Don Logan (Kingsley) is met with resistance when he tries to recruit a retired pal (Ray Winstone) for "one last job." But Logan just won't take no for an answer...

It's bloody hot...

`Sexy Beast' is just that; it possesses a savage sexuality that rivets through the audience and draws them in, never letting go. It's not your average gangster film. It's smart and original and thrilling. Couple the tight script with elegant direction and a marvelous cast, that includes two brilliant performances by the male leads (Kingsley and Winstone sizzle), and you have one of the finest films of 2001. It's hard to find a single flaw within this breathtaking film; so why bother looking. Let's focus on everything it has going for it.

The film follows a retired British gangster, Gary `Gal' Dove, as he tries his hardest to resist the temptation to reenter the game. He's visited at his home in Costa del Sol by notorious mobster Don Logan who forcefully attempts to persuade him to jump back in for one more heist. Gal refuses but like I said, Don is very `forceful' in his persuasion.

The greatest facet of this film is the pitting of Ray Winstone (who is quite the sexy beast if I do say so myself) and Ben Kingsley against one another. Their masterful performances elevate this film into that `must-see/must-love' territory. Winstone plays Gal with such emotional connection that you can feel his soul stripping as he contemplates the consequences of his actions. I have been a fan of Winstone's for a while now and with each performance I fall deeper and deeper into his trance. He says so much with his eyes, with his face; he becomes a canvas of unrelenting emotion. Kingsley is the polar opposite of Winstone here, splicing the screen with ravaging brutality. His character has been described as a pit-bull, and that is a very astute observation. There is a scene where he converses with himself in the bathroom mirror; that scene alone is a spark of genius.

Amanda Redman is flawless as Gal's wife Deedee and Ian McShane is marvelous as Teddy Bass. They support the two powerhouse performances of their co-stars with fervor and grace.

The film is magnificently constructed. It's tight and smart and effective at what it's looking to do. Jonathan Glazer knows what he's doing and delivers a near flawless film. It is savage and brutal and elegant in all the right places. It's sexy, it's provocative and it's a total beast.

In the words of Gal himself; "It's bloody hot!"

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I won't let you be happy

These words, "I won't let you be happy, why should I?" are spoken by "Don Logan," homicidal, sociopathic enforcer for London Mob boss "Teddy Bass," AKA, "The Man With The Plan." Logan is the central protagonist in "Sexy Beast," to "Gary 'Gal' Dove," a comfortably retired blagger - bank robber - living in Spain with his wife, and ex-porn star, "Deedee." When not hanging 'round the pool of their villa, Gal and Deedee spend time in bars and restaurants with another couple, "Aitch" - as in the letter "H" - and "Jackie." Aitch is another ex-blagger spending his twilight years soaking up the Spanish sun and living the good life... such as it is.

Gal may be an ex-criminal, a safecracker by specialty, but he's paid the price for one job too many, done his time inside, and he's good people. You can see that by the way he jokes around with the couples pool boy, "ordering" him to clean-up the place while he, Gal, lays around on his lounger, bemoaning the current state of "Dear Old Blighty" and its people, in a somewhat forthright, expletive laden manner! LOL!

The plot of Sexy Beast is as brutally straightforward as is its protagonists. Bass has worked out how to knock-off the most lucrative, most secure vault in London, outside of the Bank of England, and he wants - doesn't necessarily "need" mind you, but for his own reasons wants - Gal in on the job. Gal, as we know, is retired, unfortunately for him he's definitely wanted, and Don is dispatched to bring him back... one way or another.

The first time we hear about Don is when Gal, Deedee, Aitch, and Jackie, sitting in their favorite restaurant, discuss the phone call Jackie received from London letting her know he'd be flying out to see them shortly. Like "Kaiser Soeze" in The Usual Suspects, Don is a character of fearsome, almost mythic reputation, but unlike Soeze, there's no doubting the existence of Don; a real-life bogeyman, monster, psychopath, capable of acts of the most extreme violence in return for little or no provocation. As the foursome sit 'round their table, appetites suddenly gone, their hushed and plainly frightened tones tell us all we really need to know about Don Logan.

Next we see Logan being driven out to Gal's villa from the airport by Aitch and Jackie. They ride in silence, Don looks out the window at the passing countryside with the dead, emotionless eyes of a shark; Aitch and Jackie make sure they give Don no reason to talk to them. They pull up outside the villa, Gal nervously comes out to greet his unwelcome visitor, but Don is not happy, he doesn't like the heat, he's sweating, and he announces his displeasure to those present with a stream of profanity laced invective that would make a drunken sailor blush! (I watched this with a friend a while back, and his reaction to this scene was classic, the shocked look on his face said it all; "WHAT?!?!?! This is the guy who won an Oscar playing Gandhi?!?!?!" LOL!)

The film has a wonderful ensemble cast, but is dominated, and rightly so, by Ben Kingsley's terrifying, murderously savage portrayal of Don Logan, perfectly described in the Amazon Editorial above as, "human nitroglycerine;" everyone around him avoids making eye contact, as if he was a rabid dog. Ray Winston, as Gal, gives another one of his seemingly effortless performances of an ordinary bloke - no saint, but not "bad" either - who you'd buy a pint for if you met him down the pub. And a special mention must go to Ian MacShane as the mobster Bass, all hooded reptilian eyes and blank face, who's act of coldly executed murder towards the end of the film is just as shocking as Logan's frequent outbursts of hysterical violence. Kudos also to Amanda Redmond as DeeDee, Cavan Kendal as Aitch, and Julianne White as Jackie.

Sexy Beast comes from a long line of venerable British gangster films such as Michael Caine's original Get Carter, and the incendiary debut of Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday. So be warned, there's a rawness, and an in-your-face brutality about the film that you don't find in most US movies, especially in the script, the one exception I can think of at the moment is the NC17 version of Bad Lieutenant. (Also, American viewers may want to switch on the subtitles at least initially, 'til your ears become accustomed to the strong Cockney accents! LOL!) Needless to say, this one is HIGHLY recommended!

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Sexy Beast is not sexy.

There is no sex in Sexy Beast, but Ben Kingsley's performance brings out the beast as a psychopathic gangster. The tension increases as a retired criminal is urged to take part in a robbery with former partners in crime. Ben Kingsley's scene at the airport is one of his best performances. If you like gangster flicks with lots of tension, you'll like this one. This movie is most definitely not for children.

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