Sexy Beast 2001
I remember hearing about this movie on some iteration of Roger Ebert’s show and they were very impressed with it, but I never saw it. Most of the praise for the movie centers on Ben Kingsley as a very intense gangster. It is an amazing performance, comical and terrifying. The movie feels like it could be a one act play since most of it takes place at a villa in rural spain where a retired gangster lives. Kingsley’s character comes to visit to demand help for a big bank heist. The movie is less about that caper than it is about the confrontation, though it seems inevitable that the retired gangster will be drawn back in. It is kind of a gangster character study, maybe not entirely different from The Sopranos with the two main characters being the two sides of Tony Soprano. Kingsley goes over the top sometimes, seeming to improvise some of his lines. Also with the heavy British accents it isn’t always easy to understand what is being said. And really there isn’t that much to the story or to any of the characters other than Kingsley, though Ray Winstone as the retired gangster is sympathetic and relatable. It is certainly worth watching, but less for the heist than for the characters.
Written: 19 Mar 2022