Sexy Beast Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)June 22nd, 2001
"Sexy Beast" -- Tough as Nails
by Homer Yen
(c) 2001
If you thought that British films lacked a certain edginess, then this should come as a shocking and a pleasant surprise. After all, with recent slushy fare like "Billy Elliott" and "Bridget Jones's Diary," you might think that British films have the feel of a Three Musketeers candy bar. Remember their slogan? Fluffy, not stuffy.
Well, you won't find any fluff in "Sexy Beast." The stuff inside is a gritty, foul-mouthed film noir about Gary (Ray Winstone), a retired gangster, who is mercilessly coerced into performing one last heist. This is a tough-guy film for people who like tough-guy films.
Gary has built a comfortable life for himself and his wife with the fortune that he has amassed from his previous jobs. Residing in his idyllic Spanish hillside villa, his toughest task seems to be trying to avoid sunburn while lounging by his pool. But an afternoon dip, dinner with his wife, and drinks with his friends are all that he wants.
His general state of bliss, however, is about to be shattered when a former colleague visits him. It's none other than Don Largo (Ben Kingsley), a ruthless criminal that needs Gary for an ambitious bank heist back in London.
Wait a minute. Can the words "ruthless" and "Ben Kingsley" actually be used in the same sentence? Didn't he win an Oscar for his role as the irenic Gandhi? He has built his career on roles that required quiet intensity. Here, he is as tough and threatening as they come. Don't let that wiry frame of his fool you. There is more meanness packed within that body than there is in a dozen junkyard dogs. It's quite a startling transformation.
It is this element of "Sexy Beast" that will grab your attention. Don looks like he could easily be snapped in two. Meanwhile, Gary has the build of a bear. But our likeable lummox is easily overmatched by Don's brusque methods. He continually backs down in fear as Don first asks, then demands, and then threatens for his involvement. Much of this film centers on this volatile fox-and-hound relationship. Gary meekly tries to sidestep the pressure, but Don's verbal assault, which brims with curt yet poetic gangster invective, is fearfully intimidating. As the vicious hoodlum continues to press and as the reluctant retiree continues to retreat, we hope that Gary somehow manages to survive this predicament.
While "Sexy Beast" showcased a great, dark turn by Kingsley, there were a couple of things that were very distracting. The language was absolutely appalling. Its vituperative nature frequently made me uncomfortable rather than awestruck with Don's menacing nature. There were some absurd moments of comedy to break this cycle, such as banter that revolved around falling boulders, goats, and hairdressers. But you can't get over the mountain of foul language.
Even more difficult to filter through might be the heavy Cockney brogue spoken by the actors. It takes a bit of concentration to understand what everyone is talking about. So, it becomes a tough exercise when you have to absorb the foul language in addition to the somewhat indecipherable accents. Like Gary who needed to work really hard to make Don understand his situation, we may need to work equally hard to understand the film's finer points as well.
Grade: B-
S: 2 out of 3
L: 4 out of 3 (!!!)
V: 3 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
