Review of Sexy Beast (2001) by Marc " — 29 Nov 2013

Jonathan Glazer's "Reservoir Dogs".

Though not without its flaws, "Sexy Beast" is an all-around richly conceptualized, dutifully executed Lynchian neo-noir. Not having yet seen "Birth" or next year's "Under the Skin" (2013 freaking flew by) judging from "Beast" Glazer seems to brazenly partner metaphor with materialization, Ray Winstone's gangster grief from a golden life of hustling taking the retributive form of Ben Kingsley's psychopathic kingpin seeking Winstone's ex-recruit for a bank heist. Only instead of haunted, and if it doesn't run quite as flawlessly as the well-oiled machine of "Reservoir Dogs", "Sexy Beast" is a debut feature all the more memorable and promising for its pulpy, narrow, even arrogant precision. (84/100).