Sexy Beast (DVD)

For a film that is entirely based around a bank robbery, it does not spend much time on the event of the actual robbery. This however is not a fault. Its a brittish ganster film is set in Spain, where a retired gangster (Ray Winstone) is refusing to do another job back in London, while Ben Kingsley is trying to pursuade him. Even though it's a drama film, i often find myself laughing when i watch it. Its an amazingly clever and witty film, with some dark humour. Winstone and Kingsley play some great parts, and Kingsley plays one of the scarest mobsters ive ever seen in cinema. The location is one that works perfectly with the ...  Read the complete review

Accomplished writing is the key ingredient to the success of most films, depending on what sort of message they're trying to establish. Whilst visuals, editing, music -- all the components for building an atmosphere -- can add a lot to a film, without the solid base of a strong script, they can render the picture somewhat superficial. There are plenty of examples in cinema of films that fail to meet the criteria, but one of the most intriguing is Sexy Beast, purely because it's so odd and uneven. It has everything that makes a good film, yet somehow ends up as a strange, unfulfilling picture, the faults of which are hard to pinpoint given some excellent writing, acting ...  Read the complete review

Being a British gangster film and directed by a previous advert and music video director, Jonathan Glazer, and having the title it has, I wasn't expecting too much from Sexy Beast. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It tells the story of Gal, a retired gangster, played by Ray Winstone. He lives in a remote Spanish villa with his wife (Amanda Redman), and is enjoying his new start at life. However, one day, his idyllic lifestyle comes literally crashing down on him. He receives a phone call from London, informing him that Don Logan is coming to visit. And believe me; you don't want a visit from Don Logan. Basically, Logan is there to try ...  Read the complete review

I’ve always liked films featuring Ray Winstone – he displayed outstanding talent in ‘Scum’, and has gone on to become one of the most respected British actors of his generation with starring roles in often unheralded films such as ‘Nil By Mouth’ and ‘Love, Honour and Obey’. The one criticism that is levelled at him is that he is quite easily typecast, but then his accent, build and general demeanour make Winstone the ideal man to play a London gangster. I can’t say what he might be thinking, but the recent series of adverts for Holsten Pils and the way he plays his character in ‘Sexy Beast’ gave ...  Read the complete review

Like a lot of dull fads, the UK gangster trend started with good film (‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’), and its best movies have arrived as the trend is dying out – last year, there was Paul McGuigan’s marvellous ‘Gangster No. 1’, this year, Ray Winstone in ‘Sexy Beast’. Winstone has cornered the market in big sweaty East End lads, and a movie directed by the man who brought you the Guinness surfing ad doesn’t promise much. Yes, there are some gangstery bits, and lots of cockneys calling each other 'cahnts' (say it out loud), but ‘Sexy Beast’ is actually an absolutely wonderful movie. ...  Read the complete review