Everyone is believable, sometimes frighteningly so.
Layer Cake (2005)
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Reviews Counted:128
Fresh:103
Rotten:25
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: A stylized, electric British crime thriller.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong brutal violence, sexuality, nudity, pervasive language and drug use.
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:May 13, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $2,277,736
Synopsis: LAYER CAKE, a riveting thriller set in the drug underworld of the UK, marks the directorial debut of producer Mathew Vaughn (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) and stars Daniel Craig, Colm... LAYER CAKE, a riveting thriller set in the drug underworld of the UK, marks the directorial debut of producer Mathew Vaughn (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) and stars Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller and Michael Gambon. Sleek, well dressed and polite, our unnamed hero (Daniel Craig) is a consummate professional. Treating cocaine and ecstasy like any other commodity, he has made a fortune for himself by keeping his hands clean and staying under the radar. Having made the decision to retire, his aim is to break free from the world of crime, drugs and violence and live a simple, quiet life with the money he has amassed. But before this can happen, crime boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) wants two last favors from him. First, he must track down the missing, drug addict daughter of powerful criminal Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon). Second, he must negotiate the sale of a huge shipment of ecstasy with The Duke (Jamie Foreman), a loose cannon petty crook playing well out of his league. What should be routine transaction is anything but and nothing goes according to plan. Instead, duplicity and hidden alliances become the order of the day, in a struggle for power that reaches from the crack dens of London to the highest ranks of British society. Quickly he learns he is part of a machine much greater than he imagined, and getting out won't be quite as easy as getting in. Sony Pictures Classics presents a Matthew Vaughn Production, LAYER CAKE, starring Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller and Michael Gambon. Written by author J.J. Connolly (adapted from his novel of the same name), the film is produced by Vaughn, David Reid and Adam Bohling. The Executive Producer is Stephen Marks, Director of Photography is Ben Davis, Editor is Jon Davis and Production Designer is Kave Quinn. [More]
Starring: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Jamie Foreman
Starring: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon, Kenneth Cranham, Marcel Iures, Tom Hardy, Tamer Hassan, Sally Hawkins
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Screenwriter: J.J. Connolly
Producer: Matthew Vaughn, David Reid, Adam Bohling
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Layer Cake
A stylish, dynamic thicket of thorny underworld twists and deceptions.
The special appeal of Layer Cake derives from its efficient, gripping story and from the personality of the unnamed protagonist.
A virile British bounce off the Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee films and some hyper-hip TV shows.
It's hard to remember an American gangster film that has been as brazenly entertaining as Layer Cake.
Features a plot anyone over 16 has seen at least a dozen times, with slick but completely unoriginal directing by Matthew Vaughn.
A propulsive drug-world movie that dutifully covers similar ground in and around London: guns, chicks, inventive use of the F word, expensive-looking locations, designer stuff, and so on.
Craig is fascinating here as a criminal who is very smart, and finds that is not an advantage because while you might be able to figure out what another smart person is about to do, dumbos like the men he works for are likely to do anything.
Gets by courtesy of a fierce, wounded performance by Craig, whose icy blue eyes and serene pragmatism offer a convincing ballast to Layer Cake’s pop violence.
A corrosive confection of style and bile, its gleaming, butter cream-frosted contours not really concealing the crumbs who have curdled British society with their drugs.
[Craig] is a great anti-hero, tough yet vulnerable, conflicted and amused, sincere and scared, without a hint of any of it on his sleeve.
Half-baked--astronomically high in cinematic calories but very low in nutritional value.
Though style ultimately outweighs substance, the film is formidably entertaining.
As choices for a night's entertainment, well, you'd do better with a pint of Bass.
The extra attention the film demands will be richly rewarded--especially with lead Daniel Craig's hilarious, and genuinely cool perfromance.
Layer Cake is laced with flashbacks and stylistic tics, but it never loses its forward momentum, and to the last shot, it avoids predictability.
Vaughn's film falls short of Goodfellas, but thanks to his ability to organize a complex story and bold, color-drenched photography by Ben Davis, Layer Cake is a cocked fist of a movie, impossible to ignore.
Leanly muscled British actor Daniel Craig gives a star-making performance in Layer Cake, the latest in the recent wave of stylish and ultra-violent gangster films from across the pond.
Latest News for Layer Cake
December 17, 2007:
RT on DVD: The Simpsons, Stardust, and More!
This week the shelves are packed, and just in time for the holidays! Check out the long-awaited big-screen debut of Springfield's finest (The Simpsons Movie), Matthew Vaughn's... More...
August 08, 2007:
Matthew Vaughn To Helm Thor
Ain't It Cool News recently caught up with director Matthew Vaughn for a chat about projects past (Layer Cake), present (Stardust), and future -- including a possible film... More...
June 14, 2007:
Another Superhero Movie! "Thor" is Coming!
He's a Norse god with a giant hammer. Bring on the bad guys! More...
March 22, 2007:
RT-UK Exclusive: Edit Suite Report and New Pics for "Stardust"
In an otherwise unremarkable office building in London's trendy Soho, the clichés are out in force; magic is being made, fantasies are coming to life and dreams are being... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
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| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
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| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
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