Themes: Drug Trade, Dishonor Among Thieves, Going Straight
Main Cast: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman
Release Year: 2004
Country: UK
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A mechanic in the British drug trade finds himself caught in the middle of some dangerous circumstances in this crime thriller. XXXX (Daniel Craig) is a nameless go-between in the British mob who buys drugs from underground wholesalers and them sells them to street dealers, keeping the system flowing and making a tidy profit in the process. XXXX is looking forward to getting out of the game, and has displayed both smarts and caution in how he's handled his business, but before his overseer Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) will let him go, he has a couple of favors that need to be done. First, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon) is a mob boss whose daughter has gotten hooked on hard drugs and run away from home; Jimmy needs XXXX to find them girl and bring her to him before Eddie's men can get hold of her. Second, Dragan (Dragan Micanovic) is a Ecstasy wholesaler who has had a large shipment stolen by Duke (Jamie Foreman); Jimmy wants XXXX to get the Ecstasy back to Dragan, but Duke isn't eager to sell and Dragan is becoming impatient. Between these two matters, XXXX isn't so sure he'll get out of the business alive, especially after he finds himself falling for Duke's nephew's girlfriend, Tammy (Sienna Miller). Layer Cake marked the directorial debut for Matthew Vaughn, best known as a producer for Guy Ritchie's lad-centric crime movies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The recipe for Matthew Vaughn's Layer Cake is simple: start with a few generous spoonfuls of Guy Ritchie, add a pinch of Martin Scorsese, and sprinkle in a few plot points from Carlito's Way. The result is a pretty yummy confection, even if it doesn't revolutionize the dessert world. Having produced each of Ritchie's films, Vaughn has taken with him the intricate plotting, the unintelligible accents, and the surplus of characters, most of whom have cookie-cutter mobster nicknames. He's left behind Ritchie's fondness for absurdist comedy, as Layer Cake proceeds in a mostly straightforward manner, at least in terms of its set pieces. The narrative is another matter -- J.J. Connolly's script gives birth to a new subplot about every five pages, and it becomes nearly impossible to sort out who is with whom, and whether it's a double- or triple-cross they're perpetrating. This disorganization leaves certain characters out in the cold, such as Sienna Miller's promising femme fatale, who has no function. As with a Ritchie film, it may be wisest to treat Layer Cake largely as eye candy. Vaughn's camera glides through the action like a guided tour of Britain's drug underworld, narrated by the nameless protagonist (Daniel Craig) and seen through a crisp, nearly colorized filter. It's mostly free from the frenetic trickery of Ritchie's films, save for one virtuoso sequence in which Vaughn films a vicious beating from the perspective of the victim, the camera somersaulting with each blow, and Duran Duran's "Ordinary World" sputtering in and out of clarity on the soundtrack. Vaughn can marry insubstantial pop songs with hip iconography like the most successful of his predecessors. What Vaughn can't claim is a totally distinctive vision -- the kind that might prompt young filmmakers to imitate him, rather than them. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Michael Gambon - Eddie Temple; Tamer Hassan - Terry; Ben Whishaw - Sidney; Burn Gorman - Gazza; Sally Hawkins - Slasher; Sienna Miller - Tammy; Stephen Walters - Shanks; Jason Flemyng - Larry; Dragan Micanovic - Dragan; Dexter Fletcher - Cody; Louis Emerick - Trevor; Matthew Ryan - Junkie 2; Marcel Iures - Slavo; Dimitri Andreas - Angelo; Don McCorkindale - Albert Carter; Ivan Kaye - Freddie Hurst; Francis Magee - Paul the Boatman; Darren Healy - Junkie 1; Steve John Shepherd - Tiptoes; Tom Hardy - Clarkie; Neil Finnighan - Troop; Brinley Green - Nobby; Garry Tubbs - Brian; Natalie Lunghi - Charlie; Marvyn Benoit - Kinky; Rab Affleck - Mickey; Paul Orchard - Lucky; Ben Brasier - Jerry (Kilburn); Budgie Prewitt - Golf Host
Credit
Steve Carter - Art Director, Arthur Turner - Boom Operator, Leo Davis - Casting, Jina Jay - Casting, Stephanie Collie - Costume Designer, Mike Elliott - First Assistant Director, Matthew Vaughn - Director, David Reid - Second Unit Director, Jon Harris - Editor, Jonathan Davis - Editor, Stephen Marks - Executive Producer, Maureen Hetherington - Hair Styles, Karen Sheriff Brown - Hair Styles, Eddie Standish - Location Manager, Lisa Gerrard - Composer (Music Score), Ilan Eshkeri - Composer (Music Score), Maureen Hetherington - Makeup, Karen Sheriff Brown - Makeup, Peter Wignall - Camera Operator, Kave Quinn - Production Designer, Ben Davis - Cinematographer, Alain Lagger - Production Manager, Emma Pike - Production Manager, Adam Bohling - Producer, Matthew Vaughn - Producer, David Reid - Producer, Claire McGrane - Producer, Special Effects (GB) Ltd. - Special Effects, Simon Hayes - Sound Mixer, Matthew Collinge - Sound/Sound Designer, Bradley Farmer - Stunts, Rowley Irlam - Stunts, Nick Wilkinson - Stunts, Seon Rogers - Stunts, Dean Forster - Stunts, Tom Aitken - Stunts, Gary Connery - Stunts, Andy Godbold - Stunts, James O'Dee - Stunts, Paul Herbert - Stunts Coordinator, Luke Jackson - Unit Production Manager, J.J. Connolly - Screenwriter, Steve Parker - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Stacy Crago - Production Assistant, Eran Creevy - Production Assistant, Dale Manning - Production Assistant, Tarquin Pack - Production Assistant, Carlos Peres - Production Assistant, Thomas Rohde - Production Assistant, Sanne Rosinga - Production Assistant, Dan Gill - Production Assistant, Rob Duncan - Visual Effects Supervisor, Matthew Collinge - Special Effects Editor, Diane Kelly - Unit Publicist, John Marzano - Aerial Photography, Simon Werry - Aerial Photography, Kevin Fraser - Key Grip, Tom Chichester-Clark - Music Editor, Stephen McLaughlin - Music Producer, Steve McLaughlin - Music Producer, Jatinderpal Chohan - Post Production Supervisor, Clare Maclean - Post Production Supervisor, Chris Brouwer - Production Coordinator, Suzie Shearer - Production Coordinator, Noel Cowell - Properties Master, Sven Taits - Re-Recording Mixer, Chris Burdon - Re-Recording Mixer, Mary Haddow - Script Supervisor, Anthony Wilcox - Second Assistant Director, Daniel Smith - Still Photographer, Mark Silk - Underwater Photography, Joanna Nodwell - Visual Effects Producer, Danny Sheehan - ADR Editor, Peter Gleaves - ADR Recordist, Nina Ross - Assistant Art Director, Coralie Lew - Assistant Art Director, Sandra Phillips - Assistant Art Director, Anna Palmgren - Assistant Costumer Designer, Martin Duncan - Assistant Chief Lighting Technician, Melissa Holm - Casting Assistant, David Brown - Chief Lighting Technician, Fiona Lucas - Costumes Supervisor, Gabrielle Spanswick - Costumes Supervisor, Danny Sheehan - Dialogue Editor, Jeff Burden - Electrician, Robert Gavigan - Electrician, Guy Minoli - Electrician, Greg Thomas - Electrician, Jason Swanscott - Foley Artist, Paula Borum - Foley Artist, Matthew Collinge - Foley Editor, Danny Sheehan - Foley Editor, Framestore - Visual Effects, Johnny Barrs - Set Decorator, J.J. Connolly - Book Author, Alex Reid - Play Author, Tom Harrison - Cable Person, Ben Greaves - Cable Person, Robin Johnson - Cable Person, Phil Humphries - Clapper Loader, Clive Prior - Focus Puller, Jason Wheeler Film Services - Negative Cutter, Marc Wolff - Pilot, Claudia Creesburg - Production Secretary, Ana Timenys - Production Secretary, Stewart Hamilton - Runner, Russell Hasenberg - Runner, Carrie Johnson - Set Medic/First Aid, Samar Pollitt - Third Assistant Director, David Allain - Video Assist, Michelle Camp - Visual Effects Editor, Brendan Donnison - Voice Casting, Vanessa Baker - Voice Casting, Daryl Jordan - Assistant Editor, Hattie Dalton - Assistant Editor
The film centers on a cocaine distributor played by Daniel Craig. The character, who also narrates the film, is deliberately unnamed throughout, but is listed in the credits as "XXXX". XXXX has established a successful business in London buying, cutting and selling cocaine while avoiding the largesse and gangster behaviour associated with drug dealing. Having made his fortune, he secretly plans to retire from the business for good.
Daniel Craig as XXXX
XXXX's boss, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) sends him to track down Charlie, the teenage daughter of Price's associate, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon), who has fled a rehabilitation centre with her drug-addicted boyfriend. In reality, XXXX is being sent to kidnap Charlie to help Jimmy blackmail Temple over a bad investment.
At the same time, Price instructs XXXX to organise the purchase and distribution of one million ecstasy tablets from a gangster named The Duke (Jamie Foreman). Unbeknownst to XXXX, the pills have been stolen from a gang of Serbian war criminals. Jimmy has found out about XXXX's plans to retire, and believes that either the Serbian gang or Eddie Temple's mercenaries will kill XXXX, allowing him to recover some of his losses.
XXXX's world gradually unravels as he discovers Jimmy Price is informing for the police; XXXX's associate, Morty (George Harris) goes into hiding after brutally beating and pouring hot tea on a former associate in a cafe; the Duke and his gang mysteriously disappear; and the ruthless Eddie Temple involves himself in the already bungled ecstasy deal.
XXXX devises an elaborate scam to play his various adversaries off against one another, and ends up in the clear with both the money and the drugs, and most of his enemies dead. He sticks to his original plan to retire, but as he leaves a celebratory lunch with his associates, he is shot on the front steps of the country house restaurant by The Duke's nephew, Sidney (Ben Whishaw), in revenge, presumably, for stealing his girlfriend, Tammy (Sienna Miller). The film ends with XXXX left lying bleeding on the steps, his fate unknown.
The Soundtrack from Layer Cake (sometimes stylised as L4YER CAKƐ, such as on the album cover) is composed of 14 tracks.
Hayling - FC Kahuna
Opening - Ilan Eshkeri & Steve McLaughlin
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue [Original Radio Edit]
You Got The Love - The Source Feat. Candi Staton
Drive To The Boatyard - Ilan Eshkeri
Junky Fight - Lisa Gerrard
Making Plans For Nigel - XTC
Ordinary World - Duran Duran
Ruthless Gravity - Craig Armstrong
Four To The Floor - Starsailor [Soulsavers Mix]
Drive To The Warehouse - Ilan Eshkeri & Lisa Gerrard
Aria (Layer Cake Speech) - Lisa Gerrard With Michael Gambon
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Joe Cocker
Reception
Layer Cake received mostly positive reviews, with an 80% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[2] The film has an average score of 73% based on 30 reviews on Metacritic.[3]
