Release Date:
06/13/2001
In Sexy Beast, an ex-hardcase tries to live a normal life, but gets sucked back in for one more job. A hackneyed plot, to be sure, but, like so many movies, its not so much what you do, but how you do it. Sexy Beast emerges as a riveting, absolutely astonishing addition to the canon of British gangster filmsand the reasons are simple: Ben Kingsley and Ray Winstone.
Shedding any trace of his turn as Gandhi or Schindlers Lists Itzhak Stern, Kingsley plays Don Logan, a man so feared that a whisper of his name sends shockwaves through every character in the movie. Looking like a vulture and speaking in rapid-fire obscenity, Logan lurches around like Rainman filtered through Mr. Blonde. You wouldnt think it, but Kingsley conveys menace better than a hundred muscle-bound thugs. Winstone, as the hapless ex-crook Gal, hits all the right notes as his life crumbles around his ears. Other movies have tried, but Sexy Beast is the first in recent memory to effectively convey the oppressive crush of a criminal past that just wont let go. As the events kicked off by Logan unfurl and even nastier blokes surface, impending doom becomes palatable. Even the ending (relax, we wont spoil anything) manages to bring all the proceedings together in a wholly effective way. If you dont mind thick cockney accents and liberal use of the word cunt, you must indulge in Sexy Beast.
Shedding any trace of his turn as Gandhi or Schindlers Lists Itzhak Stern, Kingsley plays Don Logan, a man so feared that a whisper of his name sends shockwaves through every character in the movie. Looking like a vulture and speaking in rapid-fire obscenity, Logan lurches around like Rainman filtered through Mr. Blonde. You wouldnt think it, but Kingsley conveys menace better than a hundred muscle-bound thugs. Winstone, as the hapless ex-crook Gal, hits all the right notes as his life crumbles around his ears. Other movies have tried, but Sexy Beast is the first in recent memory to effectively convey the oppressive crush of a criminal past that just wont let go. As the events kicked off by Logan unfurl and even nastier blokes surface, impending doom becomes palatable. Even the ending (relax, we wont spoil anything) manages to bring all the proceedings together in a wholly effective way. If you dont mind thick cockney accents and liberal use of the word cunt, you must indulge in Sexy Beast.