Sexy Beast film review

certificate_18

SEXY BEAST

Sexy Beast is the debut film of director Jonathan Glazer, until now best known for his work in commercials and the man responsible for the famous Guinness 'white horses' advertisement. We might therefore expect some arresting visuals from this film, and we are not to be disappointed, especially by the opening scenes and a couple of impressive set-pieces later on. What is most encouraging, however, is the director's ability with his cast: not only does he coax another top of the range performance out of Ray Winstone, but he virtually reinvents any previous perception the audience may have had of Ben Kingsley, whose shatteringly powerful role in the film makes him almost unrecognisable.

The picture opens to the strains of 'Peaches' by The Stranglers and vividly describes Gal's (Winstone) life of luxury as a member of Spain's expat Costa Del Crime community. Gal's chief concerns are the heat, his swimming pool and beer, and he lives with his moll DeeDee (Amanda Redman). A sense of imminent doom soon engulfs Gal however, when a large boulder trundles down the mountainside and lands in his pool, narrowly avoiding killing him. Shaken by this event, Gal worries that even more trouble is at hand, an assumption that proves to be more than astute.

Gal's partner-in-crime, Darkie (Stan Higgins) soon warns him that Don (Ben Kingsley) is on his way to Spain to persuade Gal to return and help on a 'job' in London. It is not so much the idea of the job and coming out of retirement that fills Gal with dread - it is the arrival of Don. Very cleverly, the director doesn't explain exactly why Don is such a threat, but the immediate unease among Gal and his mob makes it clear that their lives are about to be turned upside down.

With so much build-up to a character's on-screen arrival, Kingsley has a lot to live up to, but he delivers in spades. His performance should be studied by every aspiring actor. Were it not for the skill of Winstone and his co-stars, Kingsley would simply blow them all off the screen. He is in Spain to get Gal back to London and he is not going to take no for an answer. A truly terrifying creation, Don exudes menace from every pore. Kingsley is simply astonishing: tattooed and shaved, he is taut and wiry and definitely someone you would never wish to cross. Or, for that matter, meet. He is a psychological bully who threatens to explode into violence at any moment.