''Sexy Beast'' is a 2000 British crime film directed by

Jonathan Glazer Jonathan Glazer (born 26 March 1965) is an English film director and screenwriter. Born in London, Glazer began his career in theatre before transitioning into film. Over the course of a career spanning nearly three decades, Glazer's directing ...

(in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. It stars

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

, and

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...

. It follows Gary "Gal" Dove (Winstone), a retired ex-gangster visited by a violent gangster (Kingsley) who demands that he take part in a bank job. ''Sexy Beast'' was critically acclaimed and Kingsley's performance earned him an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2004, ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...

'' named ''Sexy Beast'' the 15th best

British film The United Kingdom has had a significant film industry for over a century. While film production reached an all-time high in 1936, the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, during which the directors D ...

. It was the final film to feature the actor Cavan Kendall, who died of cancer shortly after filming ended.

Plot

The British ex-criminal Gary "Gal" Dove is happily retired in Spain with his beloved wife DeeDee, his best friend Aitch and Aitch's wife Jackie. An old criminal associate, the feared sociopath Don Logan, arrives at Gal's villa, intent on enlisting Gal for a bank robbery in London planned by crimelord Teddy Bass. Teddy has learned about the bank vault from Harry, the bank's chairman, whom he met at an orgy. Gal declines, but Don continues to pressure Gal, growing increasingly aggressive and violent. After Gal suggests Don's real reason for visiting is his infatuation with Jackie, with whom he had a brief affair, Don grows furious and leaves for England. On the plane, Don refuses to extinguish his cigarette prior to takeoff, is aggressive to staff and other passengers, and is ejected. He returns to the villa screaming obscenities and attacks Gal with a bottle. DeeDee aims Gal's shotgun at Don. The group shoot and beat him to death and bury him under Gal's swimming pool. In London, Gal prepares for the heist. When Teddy questions Gal about Don's whereabouts, Gal claims Don returned to London and called him from Heathrow Airport. The heist involves using diving gear to drill into the bank vault from a pool in a neighbouring bath house. The pool water floods the vault and shorts its security system. As Teddy's crew empties the vault's

safe deposit box A safe deposit box, also known as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit ...

es, Gal secretly pockets a pair of ruby and diamond earrings. After the job, Teddy insists on driving Gal to the airport. He stops at Harry's home, where he kills Harry and demands that Gal tell him where Don is. Gal responds that he is "not into this any more". In the car, Teddy indicates that he knows Gal was involved in something happening to Don, and implies that Gal would be severely punished if Teddy cared at all about Don. He suggests he may visit Gal in Spain and humiliates him by paying him only £10 for the job. Gal returns to his friends and family in Spain, where DeeDee wears the earrings and life has returned to normal. Gal still hears Don's voice in his head; he responds that Don is dead now and can "shut up".

Cast

as Gary 'Gal' Dove, a retired criminal who married DeeDee and moved to Spain to start a new life *

as Don Logan, a violent sociopath and recruiter for the London underworld *

as Teddy Bass, a London crime boss *

Amanda Redman Amanda Jacqueline Redman, (born 12 August 1957) is an English actress, known for her roles as Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman in the BBC One series '' New Tricks'' (2003–2013) and as Dr. Lydia Fonseca in ''The Good Karma Hospital'' ...

as DeeDee Dove, Gal's beloved wife and a former porn star *

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', '' The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performan ...

as Harry, a banker who shows Bass the vault * Cavan Kendall as Aitch, Dove's best friend * Julianne White as Jackie, Aitch's wife, who had a fling with Logan * Álvaro Monje as Enrique, a Spanish boy who helps Gal around the house

Production

The film was shot in London and Spain in the summer of 1999. Ray Winstone travelled to Spain two weeks before filming commenced to get as deep a tan as he could in the time possible and to eat as much as he could to bulk up considerably. He called it "the best rehearsal time I've ever had in my life." Winstone had originally been considered for the role of Don, along with

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

. The producer Jeremy Thomas remembered his experience making the film: "''Sexy Beast'' was the beginning of a new phase for me of working with first-time filmmakers. Jonathan Glazer was a television commercials director in the UK, and a wonderful talent. We were sent this script which he was attached to, and out came this wonderful film. It was very stimulating having a first time talent... The dialogue as you see in this film is exceptional. I had never read a script like it, and I thought, this has got to be made. It was very difficult to get insurance on the film actually. When the American studio bought the film, their legal department said: "You cannot make this." It has something like 300 uses of the word "cunt", and 400 "fucks", but somehow it passed the censorship and got out there." Technical elements of the heist have been compared with those in the 1979 film Sewers of Gold, which also starred McShane in the central role.

Reception

, the film has an approval rating of 86% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 138 reviews with an average rating of 7.30/10. The site's critical consensus states, "''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." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a rating of 79/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It received praise from writers at the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', '' Slate'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. Stephen Hunter of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' was less enthusiastic and described some of the film's moments as "Ben Kingsley spraying saliva-lubricated variants of the F-word into the atmosphere like anti-aircraft fire for 10 solid minutes."

Box Office

''Sexy Beast'' grossed $10.2 million on a budget of $4.3 million, making it a relative box office success.

Awards and honours

Kingsley's performance received a majority of the accolades given to ''Sexy Beast'', winning Best Supporting Actor awards from the

Broadcast Film Critics Association The Critics Choice Association (CCA), formerly the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), is an association of television, radio and online critics. Their membership includes critics who review film and television. Founded in 1995, it is the ...

Boston Society of Film Critics The Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. History The BSFC was formed in 1981 to make “Boston’s unique critical perspective heard on a national and internati ...

, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, Florida Film Critics Circle, San Diego Film Critics Society, Southeastern Film Critics Association and the

Toronto Film Critics Association The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toron ...

. He also was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award (losing to Ian McKellen for his performance in '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''), a Golden Globe and an Academy Award (losing both to Jim Broadbent for his performance in ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

''). The film also won Best Director and Best Screenplay from the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

and Special Recognition ("For excellence in film making") from the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

Music

Original music by English electronic band UNKLE in collaboration with South and also Spanish composer/saxophonist

Roque Baños Roque Baños López is a Spanish music composer. Baños graduated from Boston's Berklee College of Music in 1995 and has since scored both Spanish and English-language films. He has received numerous awards for his compositional work, including t ...

. Dean Martin's version of " Sway" accompanies the film's end credits. The soundtrack also includes "

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

" by

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...

, "

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

" by

The Gibson Brothers The Gibson Brothers are a French musical group, originally from Martinique, who had their greatest success during the disco boom of the late 1970s. Their best known hit singles included "Cuba" and " Que Sera Mi Vida". Career The three brothe ...

, "G-Spot" by Wayne Marshall, "Daddy Rollin' Stone" by Derek Martin, and

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

's "Lujon" (from the 1961 LP "Mr. Lucky Goes Latin").

Cultural references

Vocalist and guitarist Brian Sella of American folk punk band

The Front Bottoms The Front Bottoms are an American rock band from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich. History The group formed in 2006 in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. In August 2007, after ...

attributes the band's name to this film. The film was also the inspiration behind

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by th ...

song 'Jackie Big Tits', after a line spoken by Ben Kingsley's character.

Prequel television series

A prequel television series based on the film was in development at

Paramount Network Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

, which was being produced by Paramount Television Studios and

Anonymous Content Anonymous Content (AC) is an American entertainment company founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Golin. It is based in Los Angeles with offices in Culver City, New York City and London. History Anonymous Content was founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Gol ...

. However, the series was scrapped by Paramount Network. On February 15, 2022, ViacomCBS Networks UK And Australia announced that the series was revived for

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

, but will instead be produced by Chapter One and

Paramount International Networks Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of Paramount Global. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount's brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Net ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sexy Beast 2000 films 2000 crime thriller films 2000 independent films 2000 LGBT-related films British crime thriller films British gangster films British heist films British independent films British LGBT-related films English-language Spanish films Film4 Productions films Films about murderers Films directed by Jonathan Glazer Films produced by Jeremy Thomas Films set in London Films set in Spain Films shot in England Films shot in Almería Fox Searchlight Pictures films LGBT-related thriller films Male bisexuality in film Films scored by Roque Baños British neo-noir films 2000 directorial debut films Films shot in Bedfordshire 2000s English-language films 2000s British films