Review of Sexy Beast (2001) by Themumblelover . — 17 Oct 2013

A little british crime film that benefits greatly from Ben Kingsley's performance.

A retired gangster (Ray Winstone) is relaxing with his wife and friends in Spain. His new life is interrupted when an old colleague (Ben Kingsley) of his comes knocking on his door asking him to do another job and not taking no for an answer.

I thought it was very relaxing and unique. I felt for the characters and unlike many gangster films I wished the best for the main character and not the impending doom he and his friends were about to go through. It was really funny, I don't regret watching it like most films nowadays, I'll probably see it with friends later on.

There's almost no plot to the movie, its more about the characters and the decisions they make, which I liked about it a lot. It was also really stylish, it almost had a Nicolas Roeg feeling to it. Ben Kingsley's performance deserves to be seen among the best of the ruthless gangsters of cinema.

Like David Lynch's "Blue Velvet", the movie doesn't really start until the villain shows up. It focuses on the craziness of Ben Kingsley's character which makes it so fun and worthwhile. If there's anything bad I can say about it, its that I didn't want it to end.

I'd recommend it to anyone who liked Guy Ritchie's crime movies, "In Bruges", "Goodfellas", "Casino", or "Carlito's Way".