Review of Sexy Beast (2001) by Spangle — 18 Mar 2015

Despite the lack of thrills, Sexy Beast still manages to be compelling due to the fact that it is completely unlike every other "gangster" film you have ever seen. While there is some violence, the emphasis is certainly not on it, rather it is on the characters here.

Featuring great performances from Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley, this one is quite subtle, but does think it is smarter than it really is at times. In director Jonathan Glazer's latest film, Under the Skin, I had the same complaint I do here in that he tries to make it seem deeper than it really is.

His debut feature is far more enjoyable for me, but still features that same problem. Plus, some scenes were a little overdone and could have just been done normally. Glazer tries to outdo himself at times and it winds up hurting the overall product.

In spite of that, Winstone and Kingsley were amazing and their chemistry is what made this film. As a whole, Sexy Beast is a good gangster flick that does try too hard at times, but when it stays focused, it is quite compelling.