Layer Cake - Movie Review

Yesterday, I watched a nice little gangster movie called Layer Cake. It is a movie really worth watching. The movie plays out in a British setting and is a welcome change to the American gangster movies we are used to. The language of the British underworld is just one of many things which makes the movie interesting. There are plenty of twists and turns in the movie to keep us rivetted to the screen, wondering what would happen next. I don't even remember the last time I watched a crime movie in which I could not guess what would happen next.

The movie is based on a book by JJ Connolly called Layer Cake. The story is about an unnamed cocaine dealer (played by Daniel Craig), who is more of a savvy business man, than an ordinary criminal. The movie starts off with a spiel by the guy about how he ran a quiet, efficient business, how he made a neat bundle and how he plans to leave the life of crime to retire into a safe, quiet life. However, before he can retire, he has to complete two final tasks for his boss, Jimmy Price: a) find the missing drug-addict daughter of a close friend of the boss; b) facilitate the sale of a huge shipment of ecstasy from an unsafe, maverick criminal called The Duke.

Sounds simple enough, but there starts the labyrinthine twists and turns of the plot which gets more complex and tighter each passing minute. It is filled with secret dealings and double-crossings and unexpected happenings. The hero navigates different layers of the British crime world from the bottom-most to the very top (which gives the movie it's name), including petty crooks, terrorists, assassins and rich powerful crime bosses. With each passing sequence, he is pushed into ever deeper and dangerous pits of the underworld and the situation seems to get more and more hopeless, until the plot unravels into a beautiful finish. The movie is full of characters with names such as Clarkie, Duke, Slasher, Gazzar, Morty, Slavo, Kinky and so on.

This stylishly shot and tightly narrated movie is an excellent directorial debut by Producer Matthew Vaughn. I am surprised that this movie is not more popular. I am glad I rented this dvd after watching a trailer on another dvd.