Review of Sexy Beast (2001) by Aj F — 12 May 2016

Sexy Beast is a master's course in dialogue. I watch this movie at least once a year or more just to study various scenes. Specifically, the scene where Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) is pressuring Gal (Ray Winstone) on the beach is one of my favorite tirades of all time.

Don - "Talk to me,Gal. I'm here for you. I'm a good listener.".

BEAT.

Gal - "What can I say, Don? I've said it all. I'm retired.".

Don - "Shut up.".

A long abusive - yet poetic - stream of abuse follows.

I wont write the entire scene line by line because it's full of swearing. But these small bit of dialogue alone is a good example This immediate switch up is a perfect example of the kind of psychological terrorism Don Logan deploys throughout damn near every moment he's on the screen.

Both Kingsley and Winstone deliver amazing performances. So amazing the viewer believes Winstone's character is terrified of Kingsley despite a striking difference in physical size. This is something director, Jonathan Glazer, takes pains to occlude. For example, in the scene mentioned above, Kingsley stands on on a mound of sand so it looks like he towers over the other man. And it works, but only because Kingsley has such skill at inhabiting this character that Don Logan remains a ferocious presence throughout the film.

I'll not add yet another synopsis of this movie to a site full of them. But I will say this: at it's heart, sexy beast is a love story hidden inside a gangster movie with 'the job' serving merely as the MacGuffin for a much deeper quest for both characters.

Great flick for anyone to watch, but if you are a writer, this is a must-see film.