R E V I E W S
Sexy Beast (2001)
Starring: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Amanda Redman, Julianne White Director: Jonathan
Glazer Studio: Fox Searchlight Review Posted: 7.1.01 Rating: 3.5/4
By Sara M. Fetters.
"Kingsley Rules Over Sharp Beast"
Recently I attended a forum where some of the best film critics in the country, Quentin Tarantino and French auteur Jean-Jacques Beinex (Betty Blue) discussed the state of film criticism in the United States. The general consensus was that, on a whole, the industry was falling into disrepair with papers and magazines coming under the finger of huge conglomerates that also hold the studios within their hands. But the funniest moment had to be when Tarantino railed that, while this was indeed a problem, a bigger one was the fact critics were losing a grasp on film history and tradition – the very thing they were suppose to hold most dear in his mind. Quentin’s case-in-point: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. While he loved the film, he was taken aback by the fact over 85% of the critics in the country used The Matrix, a film only just over a year old, to make their comparisons. To him, that critics failed to reference over thirty years of Asian influenced martial arts cinema and to recognize the genre itself for being the most popular in the world – if not widely recognized in the US – was a major sin. Looking back at the forum it’s a very valid point and one that has not been made enough. We critics tend to have just as short memories as the public does and we can be accused of referencing what was most recent even if those allusions don’t quite fit the bill. So, on that note, I promise hear and now to not mention Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction or any of its recent ilk when talking about Jonathan Glazer’s debut film Sexy Beast.
And why should I? The film is a very British black comic crime masterpiece far more reminiscent of seventies heavyweights Get Carter (the Mike Hodges/Michael Caine masterpiece, not the Sylvester Stallone/Michael Caine mistake) or John Boorman’s Point Blank. It’s a fidgety, tricky, funny, vile, violent and poetic excursion into the underbelly of crime; what it takes to get out and the fragile thread those that exit stand upon. Gary “Gal” Dove (Ray Winstone) has gotten out. After nine years in prison he’s had enough, and while he never made that one big score everyone dreams of, Gal’s not complaining. With a pristine Spanish villa, a wife, Deedee (Amanda Redman), he loves dearly and friends Aitch (Cavan Kendall) and Jackie (Julianne White) to keep him company why should he? Even a giant boulder careening down a hill behind his property and landing smack dab in the middle of his swimming pool isn’t going to bring this retired cockney thief down. Life is good, relaxed and Gal is happy. For him, that’s all that matters.
Sometimes, though, life sends warnings when things are going to start going downhill, splattering much more than one’s pool tiles. They can come as dreams, they can come as nightmares, but just pray they don’t come in the form of Don Logan. Ben Kingsley plays Logan as a single-minded snarl of a pit bull; a nagging, belligerent, foul-mouthed cuss of human being hell bent on getting his way. Right now, his way consists of getting Gal on a plane for England to do a bank job for Teddy Bass (Ian McShane). But the retired con doesn’t want any of it. He’s happy sweating away in his villa and has no wish to see England – or the inside of a prison – ever again. But, as the ads for the film menacingly say, Don doesn’t do “no.” No bone about it, Sexy Beast is a terrific film and for many reasons not the least of which is the justly lauded performance of Kingsley. He’s every bit as good as he’s ever been, including his Oscar nominated turns in Ghandi (for which he won) and Bugsy, and Don Logan is a classically evil creation from the spit shine bald head to the devilishly pointed goatee. Like Lee Marvin from Point Blank or Michael Caine in (the original) Get Carter, he’s a force of nature; a hurricane-like dervish that once unleashed can not be contained. Like a child driven out of control for a toy he can not have, Kingsley chews through the role with only the genuine relish a great actor can. Nearly matching him are both Winstone and McShane. The former, most known for his fiery wife beater roles in Nil by Mouth and The War Zone, is simply superb. Gal is a wounded soul just finding peace with himself and his life, but still knows his place in the world and what he had to do to get there. McShane plays Teddy Bass as if he was Logan’s antithesis. Where Don is belligerent, Teddy is quite; where Don is a human spitfire, Teddy is the silent snake hidden in the grass. If Don is the out of control child, then Teddy Bass is the stern father not afraid to spank if he feels the need. Granted, for an 88-minute film there are one or two slow spots that just don’t quite gel like they should. Also, the caper that the film builds towards, while nicely put together is nothing overly spectacular and feels a bit forced. Of course, the caper isn’t the point. It’s the people that matter, and Sexy Beast knows exactly what to do with them. There’s genuine terror whenever Winstone and McShane share a scene and Kingsley’s relish at playing such an unrepentant thug is creepy and awe inspiring both at the same time. Like Memento and Amores Perros, Jonathan Glazer has made a crime melodrama with an ode to the past but with futuristic style all its own. Sexy Beast fits into the grand tradition of great British dark comedic criminal filmmaking but explodes to the surface strumming to its own cadence. It’s a great film and a strikingly good debut (and I didn’t mention Pulp Fiction, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or any other recent crime film once – hope you’re happy, Quentin).
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