Sexy Beast

A psychological ultra-hell made stylish through brilliant camerawork and editing. The plot of Sexy Beast is merely a pretext; the important thing is the original combination of three different moods – bohemian romance, cynical comedy and sultry crime flick – and the rising tension in the interactions between the characters, which exceeds everything seen so far. It’s a sensational audio-visual treat elevated by Ben Kingsley’s brilliant performance (Scorsese’s and Tarantino’s gangsters would cower in the corner). The other actors are also excellent. For me, Sexy Beast is a cult gangster flick with iconic dialogue and an iconic soundtrack. And it just gets better and better with each viewing. (12/04/2002)

In his debut, Glazer goes to thematic levels that several experienced directors wouldn’t dare. Heat, bohemianism, love, hell from the past, violence, mobsters; It's got a bit of Tarantino, a bit of Scorsese and a dash of Guy Ritchie. As a whole, though, it falls far short of the dream combination of three different approaches (emphasis on punchy dialogue, emphasis on tension between the actors and camera work, emphasis on fast editing and connecting multiple temporally separated lines), but it's a consistently entertaining and, given the uniqueness of its own characters, original gangster flick that doesn't turn out the way anyone would initially expect (which is very good), but also fails to bring everything to a satisfying and memorable conclusion (which is not that good). Ben Kingsley's character is a captivating black-humoured figure you wouldn’t want to cross and who alone sets the sweaty dramatic dynamics of the first half, Winston's every facial gesture is believable and Ian McShane is a mobster who can make your blood run cold. That said, I don’t quite see Sexy Beast as something to watch enthusiastically more than once. 80% (01/10/2018)