Sexy Beast

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Sexy Beast

R

2000

1h 29m

Comedy

Drama

Crime

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

143 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Ex-villain Gal Dove (Ray Winstone) has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan (Ben Kingsley), intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job. Desperate not to sacrifice his enchanted existence, Dove is drawn into a shocking battle of wills with Logan, and takes part in a sensational underwater heist, risking everything to protect the woman he loves.

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Critics Consensus

Sexy Beast rises above other movies in the British gangster genre due to its performances -- particularly an electrifying one by Ben Kingsley -- and the script's attention to character development.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

07/03/2021

5/5

A crime film like no other, Sexy Beast is composed of moments of startling audacity, visual and dramatic, that arrive in waves, just long enough for you to catch your breath before the next.

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Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

09/14/2020

The movie needs to be seen for its clean compositions, for its sure touch of fantasy, and, above all, for the forbidding presence of Kingsley-the prince of darkness, lightly disguised as a human being.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

03/31/2008

The talented Glazer keeps things crisp, clean and purposeful. The only flab on this film is around the waist of its sybaritic hero, a working-class crook who has finally gotten a taste of the good life, and doesn't want to lose it.

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Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

04/30/2024

4/5

A gorgeously vitriolic crime flick with a personality all its own.

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Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

04/30/2024

A-

Remember the Gandhi of Ben Kingsley? Wait until you seem him here as Don Logan, a psychotic gangster, the British equivalent of Pesci in GoodFellas. Kingsley's work is more bizarrely eccentric. And more accomplished.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

01/16/2024

4/5

…doesn’t have much to do with sex or beasts, despite the giant machine-gun-toting Donnie Darko rabbit that haunts Gal’s dreams, but in terms of British art-house gangster movies, Jonathan Glazer’s uncouth film remains the 200-pound-gorilla in the room…

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Chris H

@RT60525826 May 8

On point performances make this a great film rather than a good one. Ben Kingsley stands out, of course, but everyone is terrific. The plot has layers to it as well - making it worth watching more than once.

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Ollie W

@RT90619198 May 2

In enjoyed this film but Ben Kingsley is not physically intimidating and so the reactions to him felt somewhat unrealistic. All the performances are good but it didn’t quite seem believable. Still a good watch. And its nice to see Ray Winstone without his top on.

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Ronnie M

@spuncake Mar 27

Pretty good movie....All around good acting

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Laurie S

@Karlwinters Mar 11

I'm going against the grain on this highly over-rated film, but the realism wasn't there. Why didn't they just kill Logan earlier.

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Billl W.

@Cavener1 Dec 14

Definitely one of my goto movies next to Uncut Gems.

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kevenquinlan T

@RT75276071 06/21/2025

A well received movie when it came out- watching in 2025= still great. I strongly suggest you subtitle it or you'll miss most of the dialogue EVEN if you're British. They don't annunciate very well and deliver the lines with a spitfire rapidity. Great acting, great story, an must addition to your library.

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Jonathan Glazer

Director

Ray Winstone

Gary "Gal" Dove

Ben Kingsley

Don Logan

Ian McShane

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Amanda Redman

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Synopsis

Ex-villain Gal Dove (Ray Winstone) has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan (Ben Kingsley), intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job. Desperate not to sacrifice his enchanted existence, Dove is drawn into a shocking battle of wills with Logan, and takes part in a sensational underwater heist, risking everything to protect the woman he loves.

Director: Jonathan Glazer
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter: Louis Mellis, David Scinto
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Jonathan Glazer Film, Recorded Pictures Company, Jeremy Thomas Production
Rating: R (Some Sexuality|Pervasive Language|Strong Violence)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.9M
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, DTS, SDDS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)