Sexy Beast
Sexy Beast opens with numerous images of a somewhat portly, middle-aged man lying beside his pool and wearing a skimpy bathing suit. We see him stretch, lie on a beach chair and walk around -- all from a plethora of angles. Eventually these images come to a climax as this gentleman rises and jumps into the air, as the camera exquisitely frames his unit (which is well exposed thanks to the aforementioned suit). As the picture freezes, the film's title flashes across the screen: Sexy Beast.
If at this point you're rolling on the ground in stitches, chances are you'll love this film. If you're sitting on your couch thinking, "What the fuck?" you may want to take a pass. I was mildly intrigued and kept watching, for better or for worse.
Our bikini-clad friend is Gal (Ray Winstone), a former heist expert who's retired to the Spanish countryside with his well-endowed wife Deedee (Amanda Redman). Gal is fully content to live out the rest of his life relaxing by his pool and getting fat, but there's a problem. An old associate named Don Logan (Oscar-nominated Ben Kingsley) wants Gal to return to action for one last job ... and he won't take no for an answer.
The film's first hour consists of Logan pleading with, bullying and cajoling Gal into doing the job. If this sounds repetitive, it is. It doesn't help that the plotline -- brilliant thief reluctantly returns to action -- has been done countless times before.
This might be forgivable if the interplay between Gal and Logan was riveting, but alas the reverse is true. Both characters lack depth, and the past relationship between them is so vague that it's tough to give a shit about their back-and-forth arguments.
The film's final third centers on the heist itself, and it lacks suspense or creativity. Clearly this act isn't the focus of either the screenwriters or the director, and it shows. But considering the film's thin characterizations, I'm not sure what their focus was supposed to be.
The acting is decent enough, though Kingsley's performance seems a bit overrated. At first it's a stunner to see the ordinarily passive Kingley (Gandi's title character, Schindler's List's Itzhak Stern) in full goattee, cursing like a sailor and taking on the guise of a high-strung tough guy. Eventually, though, this one-note performance starts to grow stale, and Kingley's turn begins to feel like an acting stunt rather than true characterization.
Director Jonathan Glazer pulls out all the stops in his debut film, but while his effort is appreciated, it's distracting as often as it is effective. It's tough to blame him for trying, though: The lackluster script doesn't give him much to work with.
Sexy Beast is billed as a dark crime comedy/thriller, but doesn't succeed on either note. It rarely thrills and fails to add any new twists on the heist front. As for the comedy part, perhaps cultural barriers prevented me from appreciating the English humor. You'll have to decide that for yourself.
Despite Sexy Beast's short running time (less than 90 minutes), it feels more like a painstakingly slow 3-hour epic. It may have garnered some good reviews and claimed its share of awards (especially in Britain), but there's not a lot here that I'd recommend. Perhaps some of our friends overseas can enlighten me. Until then, consider looking elsewhere for your next rental.
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Don Logan's hardcore nature may rouse some viewers to indulge in a little hardcore drinking.
Actually, viewing this film with a significant other may provoke a dry spell (see opening paragraph at left).
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