Sexy Beast (2000)

I won't let you be happy
These words, "I won't let you be happy, why should I?" are spoken by "Don Logan," homicidal, sociopathic enforcer for London Mob boss "Teddy Bass," AKA, "The Man With The Plan." Logan is the central protagonist in "Sexy Beast," to "Gary 'Gal' Dove," a comfortably retired blagger - bank robber - living in Spain with his wife, and ex-porn star, "Deedee." When not hanging 'round the pool of their villa, Gal and Deedee spend time in bars and restaurants with another couple, "Aitch" - as in the letter "H" - and "Jackie." Aitch is another ex-blagger spending his twilight years soaking up the Spanish sun and living the good life... such as it is.

Gal may be an ex-criminal, a safecracker by specialty, but he's paid the price for one job too many, done his time inside, and he's good people. You can see that by the way he jokes around with the couples pool boy, "ordering" him to clean-up the place while he, Gal, lays around on his lounger, bemoaning the current state of "Dear Old Blighty" and its people, in a somewhat forthright, expletive laden manner! LOL!

The plot of Sexy Beast is as brutally straightforward as is its protagonists. Bass has worked out how to knock-off the most lucrative, most secure vault in London, outside of the Bank of England, and he wants - doesn't necessarily "need" mind you, but for his own reasons wants - Gal in on the job. Gal, as we know, is retired, unfortunately for him he's definitely wanted, and Don is dispatched to bring him back... one way or another.

The first time we hear about Don is when Gal, Deedee, Aitch, and Jackie, sitting in their favorite restaurant, discuss the phone call Jackie received from London letting her know he'd be flying out to see them shortly. Like "Kaiser Soeze" in [[ASIN:B00005V9HH The Usual Suspects]], Don is a character of fearsome, almost mythic reputation, but unlike Soeze, there's no doubting the existence of Don; a real-life bogeyman, monster, psychopath, capable of acts of the most extreme violence in return for little or no provocation. As the foursome sit 'round their table, appetites suddenly gone, their hushed and plainly frightened tones tell us all we really need to know about Don Logan.

Next we see Logan being driven out to Gal's villa from the airport by Aitch and Jackie. They ride in silence, Don looks out the window at the passing countryside with the dead, emotionless eyes of a shark; Aitch and Jackie make sure they give Don no reason to talk to them. They pull up outside the villa, Gal nervously comes out to greet his unwelcome visitor, but Don is not happy, he doesn't like the heat, he's sweating, and he announces his displeasure to those present with a stream of profanity laced invective that would make a drunken sailor blush! (I watched this with a friend a while back, and his reaction to this scene was classic, the shocked look on his face said it all; "WHAT?!?!?! This is the guy who won an Oscar playing [[ASIN:B000KX0IOA Gandhi]]?!?!?!" LOL!)

The film has a wonderful ensemble cast, but is dominated, and rightly so, by Ben Kingsley's terrifying, murderously savage portrayal of Don Logan, perfectly described in the Amazon Editorial above as, "human nitroglycerine;" everyone around him avoids making eye contact, as if he was a rabid dog. Ray Winston, as Gal, gives another one of his seemingly effortless performances of an ordinary bloke - no saint, but not "bad" either - who you'd buy a pint for if you met him down the pub. And a special mention must go to Ian MacShane as the mobster Bass, all hooded reptilian eyes and blank face, who's act of coldly executed murder towards the end of the film is just as shocking as Logan's frequent outbursts of hysterical violence. Kudos also to Amanda Redmond as DeeDee, Cavan Kendal as Aitch, and Julianne White as Jackie.

Sexy Beast comes from a long line of venerable British gangster films such as Michael Caine's original [[ASIN:0790750716 Get Carter]], and the incendiary debut of Bob Hoskins in [[ASIN:B000EDWLNM The Long Good Friday]]. So be warned, there's a rawness, and an in-your-face brutality about the film that you don't find in most US movies, especially in the script, the one exception I can think of at the moment is the NC17 version of [[ASIN:B00005OM6L Bad Lieutenant]]. (Also, American viewers may want to switch on the subtitles at least initially, 'til your ears become accustomed to the strong Cockney accents! LOL!) Needless to say, this one is HIGHLY recommended!

Good-evil vs Bad-evil
What fun! Everyone went nuts over Ben Kingsley's over the top, outrageous performance. Indeed, he was the epitome of evil. Equally as evil, and even more frightening is Ian McShane (as Teddy Bass). Without giving too much away, we have a former mob-related guy (a magnificent Ray Winstone) who's retired with his lovely wife (Andrea Redman). Enter psychotic Dan Logan (Kingsley), and all hell breaks loose. Kingsley is, indeed, an enormous force who disrupts the idyllic state. His power takes over, making everyone around him seem helpless. Needless to say, everything sorta works out, and the film has a satisfying ending. The young Spanish actor, Alvaro Moaje, has had a successful carreer since; good kid actors are rare. The heavy accents were hard to understand, at first, but it seemed to flow as the film went on. I enjoyed it a lot; the version I saw was a wide 2.35:1 widescreen, and there were a few interesting extras, incl director commentary. Jonathan Glazer has presented a riveting film, droll with humor. I enjoyed it a lot.

Beastly Stuff, And Utterly Fascinatng
The more I see "Sexy Beast," the more fascinating it gets, and it was pretty interesting the first time! And, at less than an hour-and-a-half it's even more watchable. It also is a good idea to play this with the English subtitles on, unless you can understand the strong British accents, and can interpret the slang words.

Ben Kingsley, as sociopath "Don Logan," is unbelievably intense and almost has my jaw dropping when watching him in here. Ian McShane is another creepy guy in here as "Teddy." It's also very stylishly filmed.

This is one movie you will not forget. Warning: it's rough, crude and strange. Expect a lot of "f" words and "c" words. Also expect an interesting 89 minutes.