Directed by:
Matthew VaughnScreenplay:
J.J. ConnollyCinematography:
Ben DavisCast:
Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Marcel Iures, Michael Gambon, Tom Hardy, Tamer Hassan, Ben Whishaw, Burn Gorman (more)Plots(1)
British gangster film based on the London-set crime novel by J.J. Connolly. 'X' (Daniel Craig) is a successful, smooth-talking cocaine dealer - respected among London's crime elite - whose plan is to bankroll enough cash to make an early retirement from 'business' and lead a quiet, crime-free life. He sees the opportunity to make a final score when big crime boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) asks him to track down Charlotte Ryder (Nathalie Lunghi), the wayward daughter of his old friend Eddie (Michael Gambon). But complicating matters are 2 million pounds' worth of Grade A drugs, a neo-Nazi sect and endless 'layers' of deals and double-deals. (Sony Pictures Releasing)
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Reviews (9)
Another in a series of pictures about the contemporary drug underworld that are full of dirty tricks, twists and that sort of thing. Debutant Matthew Vaughn did a good job and is helped considerably by a strong screenplay. The best thing about this is that this isn’t meant to be a spoof. In fact, quite the opposite. It is serious from start to finish. And that is good, very good, because we have seen far too many variations on “cool Richie pics".
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It has seemed for some time now that Matthew Vaughn is just trying to stylishly pick out the best tricks from his friend Guy Ritchie's golden scams, so I enjoyed watching the young or unknown faces of future or current stars more than the over-complicated plot. However, the viewer gets used to the number of characters and the turbulent changes in mood, and suddenly the fast pace seemed almost flawless to me. An incredibly precise and fresh gangster film for a debut, even though it's just a precursor to the director's abilities and potential for his future films.
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Superb. Vaughn is talented and serves up this great genre piece excellently. Camera tricks, great music, focus on actors... Today these are the creme de la creme of British actors and you can see that Craig put a lot of Mr. Into Bond. The story is well-thought through, has some surprises in store and, most importantly, it’s entertaining.
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The third star (that puts the film a bit above-par) is because it’s the début of a director that thrilled me with his other films, otherwise, Layer Cake disappointed me and I would give it five out of ten points. What to do with a film that doesn’t take itself seriously, but it’s not funny?
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Having seen Stardust (and been captivated by it) and most recently Kick-Ass (which captivated me even more), I decided to give Matthew Vaughn's work a go and got his first feature film to take home as well. Layer Cake is certainly a well made gangster flick with the more than good Daniel Craig in the lead role, and while it doesn't quite achieve the same "grit" as, say, Snatch, it comes across as wholesome and likeable and provides what it should in terms of genre. 80%
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