Review of Sexy Beast (2001) by Nathan F — 25 Feb 2010

When will we stop measuring an actor's strength by the bite of their lines and the endurance of their diaphragms? Kingsley won accolades here for chewing scenery rather quickly with that brisk mouth of his, but besides the hyper-paced back-and-forths to hide the lack of wit, I couldn't see what the fuss was about.

Great actors in great roles hint at personalities and latent emotions beyond their personages--here, Kingsley is only as good as the lines he's reading, which aren't very good, even when you can understand them.

Jonathan Glazer, who is used to directing commercials, here tries narrative films and flops around like a horse out of water.