Sexy Beast (2000)

Note Générale:

7,1/10   

Réalisateur:

Jonathan Glazer

Scénaristes:

Louis Mellis (written by) and
David Scinto (written by)
(suite)

Date de sortie:

12 janvier 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drame

Accroche:

Sometimes It's Hard To Say No

Intrigue:

Brutal gangster Don Logan recruits "retired" safecracker Gal for one last job, but it goes badly for both of them.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Spain | Boulder | Retirement | One Last Job

Récompenses:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 19 wins & 14 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

strong performances, interesting drama

Ensemble

Ray Winstone	...	Gary 'Gal' Dove
Ben Kingsley	...	Don Logan
Ian McShane	...	Teddy Bass
Amanda Redman	...	Deedee Dove
James Fox	...	Harry
Cavan Kendall	...	Aitch
Julianne White	...	Jackie
Álvaro Monje	...	Enrique
Robert Atiko	...	Andy
Nieves del Amo Oruet	...	Air Hostess
Enrique Alemán Fabrega	...	Pilot
Gérard Barray	...	Spanish Official (as Gerard Barray)
José Maria Cano Ramos	...	Felipe's Friend 1 (as José Ma. Cano Ramos)
Desirée Erasmus	...	Jean
Santiago Frias Munoz	...	Policia 2
José Hernández	...	Ginger Air Steward
Ana Maldonado Herreria	...	Maruja / Matronly Woman
Andy Lucas	...	Jimmy
José Lirola Ramos	...	Policia 1
José López Carrillo	...	Felipe's Friend #2
Antonio Fco. Márquez Quesada	...	Steward #2
Juan Manuel Martníez Cobos	...	Policia #4
Dionisio Mesa	...	Felipe
Eddie O'Connell	...	Bruno
Terence Plummer	...	Mike (as Terry Plummer)
Manuel Sánchez Berlanga	...	Man on Plane
Frank Scinto	...	Pete
Darkie Smith	...	Stan
Rocky Taylor	...	Raymond
Chris Webb	...	Nicky
Pedro Zamora Hernández	...	Policia 3

Réalisé par
Jonathan Glazer

Scénaristes
Louis Mellis		(written by) and
David Scinto		(written by)
Andrew Michael Jolley		story (uncredited)

Produit par
Hercules Bellville	....	associate producer
Denise O'Dell	....	co-producer
Jeremy Thomas	....	producer
Peter Watson	....	associate producer
Paul Webster	....	chief executive procuder: FilmFour
Mark Albela	....	co-producer (uncredited)

Musique originale
Roque Baños

Image
Ivan Bird		(director of photography)

Montage
John Scott
Sam Sneade

Distribution des rôles
Lucy Boulting

Création des décors
Jan Houllevigue

Décorateur de plateau
Jane Cooke

Création des costumes
Louise Stjernsward

Maquillage
Colin Arthur	....	special effects makeup
Michele Baylis	....	hair designer
Michele Baylis	....	makeup designer
Eusebio Marquez	....	hair designer (as Eusebio Márquez Lebreros)
Eusebio Marquez	....	makeup designer (as Eusebio Márquez Lebreros)
Michelle Wise	....	makeup assistant

Directeur de production
Mark Albela	....	production supervisor
Simon Hardy	....	production supervisor: UK
Pat Lees	....	production manager: UK
Caroline Lloyd-Price	....	unit manager: UK
Michael Saxton	....	post-production supervisor (as Mike Saxton)
Simon Scotland	....	production manager (uncredited)

Assistant réalisateur
Oscar Beuselinck	....	second assistant director
Manuel L. Cañizares	....	first assistant director: Spain
Araceli Gordobil	....	co-second assistant director: Spain
Jonathan Hamm	....	third assistant director: UK
Olivia Peniston-Bird	....	third assistant director: Spain
Kieron Phipps	....	first assistant director

Département Art
James Alexander-Hamilton	....	art director: UK (as James Alexander Hamilton)
David Barker	....	carpenter: UK (as Dave Barker)
Tess Bartlett	....	production buyer: UK
Carlos Bodelón	....	art director: Spain (as Carlos Suárez Bodelón)
Jesús Bustamante	....	property buyer: Spain
José M. Canencia	....	stand-by props: Spain (as Manuel Canencia)
Gilles Cornu	....	production designers assistant: UK
José Luque Cruz	....	carpenter: Spain
Russell Daly	....	stand-by painter: UK
Jamie Davies-Evans	....	painter: UK
Natacha Du Pont de Bie	....	property buyer: UK (as Natacha Du Pont De Bie)
Philippe Delestre	....	painter: UK
José G. Donado	....	carpenter: Spain (as José García Donado)
Cameron Eccles	....	construction buyer: UK
Felix Alvarez Fernández-Pacheco	....	carpenter: Spain
Rupert Gartrell	....	dressing props: UK
Craig Gleeson	....	stand-by construction: UK
Gary Gleeson	....	painter: UK
Nick Goodall	....	carpenter: UK
Craig Gray	....	construction foreman: UK
Clint Hellyer	....	carpenter: UK
Mansel Jones	....	carpenter: UK
Tim Leadley	....	stand-by carpenter: UK
Shay Leonard	....	stand-by props: UK
Harry Metcalfe	....	construction manager: UK (as Harry Metcalf)
Alejandro Montero	....	dressing props: Spain
Simon Morrissey	....	property master: UK
Andy Nicholson	....	draughtsman: UK (as Andrew Nicholson)
Chislaine André Noriega	....	stand-by props: Spain
Juan Pedregosa	....	stand-by carpenter: Spain (as Juan Manuel 'Jambo' Pedregosa)
Geraint Powell	....	assistant art director: UK
Enrique Quevedo	....	dressing props: Spain
Simon Richards	....	prop hand: UK
Steve Ritchie	....	assistant art director: UK
Luis Sastre	....	stand-by props: Spain
Manuel Marín Segura	....	carpenter: Spain
Steve Simmonds	....	art director: UK
Natalie Sinclair	....	art department production manager: UK
Angel Veláquez Torras	....	carpenter: Spain
Eric Vermeil	....	finishing painter: UK
Graham Wardale	....	carpenter: UK
Julian Weaver	....	stand-by props: UK
Marcus Wookey	....	art director: UK
Evan Woolcock	....	construction foreman: UK (as Evan Woodcock)
Stefan Zambinski	....	art department assistant: UK

Technicien du son
Tim Alban	....	dubbing mixer
Antonio Bloch	....	sound engineer
Edward Bulman	....	dubbing assistant (as Ed Bulman)
Peter Burgess	....	foley artist
Jens Christensen	....	adr recordist
Felicity Cottrell	....	foley artist
Rory Farnan	....	dialogue editor
Sara Fijo	....	boom operator
Richard File	....	programmer: UNKLE Entertainment
Hugh Johnson	....	adr recordist
Andrea King	....	foley artist
Emma Pegram	....	dubbing assistant
Jeremy Price	....	supervising sound editor
Sandra Roth	....	foley editor
Sandra Roth	....	foley recordist
Jack Stew	....	foley artist
Andrew Stirk	....	assistant sound mixer
Damian Taylor	....	sound director
Hilary Wyatt	....	adr editor
Hilary Wyatt	....	dialogue editor
Mark Kenna	....	consultant: Dolby film sound (uncredited)
Mark Kenna	....	consultant: dolby film sound (uncredited)
José Vinader	....	sound (uncredited)

Effets spéciaux
César Abades	....	special effects technician: Spain (as Cesar Abades)
Reyes Abades	....	special effects supervisor: Spain
Reyes Abades	....	special effects
Ángel Alonso	....	special effects technician: Spain (as Angel Alonso)
Richard Brown	....	senior technician: UK
Tom Harris	....	special effects supervisor: UK
Christopher Hobbs	....	senior technician: UK
Gareth E.D. Jones	....	special effects crew
Ian Lowe	....	senior technician: UK
Paul Mann	....	additional miniatures
Paul Mann	....	special effects
James McKeown	....	special effects technician
Nicky O'Sullivan	....	special effects technician
Victor Sánchez	....	special effects technician: Spain
Peter Toulson	....	senior technician: UK
Jason Troughton	....	special effects supervisor: UK
Mark Vanstone	....	special effects technician
Alan Whibley	....	special effects supervisor: UK

Visual Effects
Tabitha Dean	....	visual effects editorial assistant: CFC
Tom Debenham	....	compositing artist: CFC
Adrian De Wet	....	compositing artist: CFC
Ian Fellows	....	digital paint artist: CFC
Adam Glasman	....	digital lab: CFC
Verity Grantham	....	visual effects coordinator: CFC
Darrel Griffin	....	digital lab: CFC
Robert Hall	....	digital paint artist: CFC
Jan Hogevold	....	digital lab producer: CFC
Oliver James	....	disco node: CFC
Merrin Jensen	....	digital lab: CFC
Matt Kasmir	....	digital compositor
Roz Lowrie	....	visual effects editorial: CFC
Scott Marriott	....	digital lab: CFC
Justin Martin	....	CG animator: CFC (as Justin Murphy)
Stephen Murphy	....	CG animator: CFC
Mark Nelmes	....	visual effects supervisor: CFC
Cecilie Olsen	....	visual effects editorial assistant: CFC
Alex Payman	....	compositing artist: CFC
Rachael Penfold	....	visual effects producer: CFC
Dominic Sidoli	....	visual effects coordinator: CFC
Steve Tizzard	....	digital lab: CFC
Gavin Toomey	....	compositing artist: CFC

Cascadeur
Tom Aitken	....	stunts
Miguel Pedregosa	....	stunt coordinator: Spain
Juan Manuel Torres	....	stunt double: Ben Kingsley, Spain
Fco. Javier Tristán	....	stunts: Spain
Richard Bradshaw	....	stunts (uncredited)

Caméra et Département Electrique
Oscar Durán Barcena	....	Steadicam assistant: Spain
Martin Bloye	....	electrician: UK (as Martin Bloy)
Eva Díaz Iglesias	....	clapper loader: Spain
Derek Docksey	....	rigger: UK
Peter Dones	....	second grip: UK
Martin Duncan	....	rigging gaffer: UK
Diego Suárez Fernández	....	clapper loader: Spain
Ian Foster	....	camera operator
Ángel Frutos	....	generator operator: Spain (as Angel Frutos Escudero)
Aaron Green	....	underwater electrician: underwater unit
Jay Handscomb	....	rigger: UK
Paul Harford	....	rigger: UK
Vaon Harris	....	clapper loader: photogonics unit
Steve James	....	camera trainee: UK
Stephen Janes	....	assistant camera
Dan Landin	....	director of photography: additional photography
Paco Laso	....	clapper loader: Spain
Pedro López	....	electrician: Spain
Manuel Luque Quero	....	electrician: Spain
Eduardo Luzán	....	grip: Spain
Joaquín Manchado	....	Steadicam operator: Spain
Raúl Manchado	....	Steadicam assistant: Spain
Pepe Martínez	....	focus puller
Jesús Merino	....	best boy: Spain
José Merino	....	electrician: Spain
Guy Minoli	....	electrician: UK
Dean Morrish	....	clapper loader: underwater unit
Alexander Reid	....	clapper loader: UK (as Alex Reid)
Jason Reynier	....	electrician: UK
Manuel Salas Salmerón	....	electrician: Spain
James Scott	....	clapper loader: underwater unit
Gordon Segrove	....	focus puller: underwater unit
Ricky Stelling	....	rigger: UK
Lorne Stockman	....	rigger: UK
Alf Tramontin	....	Steadicam operator: UK
Mike Valentine	....	underwater camera: underwater unit
Gary Varney	....	gaffer
Nick Wall	....	still photographer
Jimmy Waters	....	camera grip
Nicholas Woollard	....	best boy electric: UK (as Nick Woollard)
Daniel Laviada	....	crane grip (uncredited)
Juan Ramos	....	Steadicam operator: Spain (uncredited)

Département Casting
John Harris Dunning	....	casting assistant: UK
Chloe Emmerson	....	casting associate
Camilla-Valentine Isola	....	casting: Spain

Département Costume et garde-Robe
Marianne Agertoft	....	wardrobe assistant
Suzy Freeman	....	costume supervisor
Lena Mossum	....	wardrobe supervisor: Spain
Livia Pascucci	....	costume assistant: UK

Dpartement Editorial
Simon Gosling	....	post-production coordinator
Florence Larsonneur	....	post-production coordinator
Ollie Savage	....	post-production runner
Alexander Soskin	....	assistant editor
Mike Stainer	....	color grader
Sylvia Wheeler	....	negative cutter

Département Musique
Roque Baños	....	musician: his original music
Joel Cadbury	....	composer: additional original music (as J. Cadbury)
Cameron Craig	....	music mixer
Raquel Fernández	....	music mixing assistant
Raquel Fernández	....	music recording assistant
Richard File	....	additional music producer: UNKLE Entertainment
Richard File	....	composer: additional original music (as R. File)
Janice Ginsberg	....	soundtrack consultant
Robert Hathaway	....	music editor (as Bob Hathaway)
James Lavelle	....	composer: additional original music (as J. Lavelle)
James Lavelle	....	music producer: UNKLE Entertainment
Miriam Ludbrook	....	assistant music editor
James McDonald	....	composer: additional original music (as J. McDonald)
Jose Vinader Pérez	....	music mixing technician
Jose Vinader Pérez	....	music recording technician
Peter Raeburn	....	music consultant
Brett Shaw	....	composer: additional original music (as B. Shaw)
Damian Taylor	....	additional music producer

Département Transport
Lars Barker	....	driver: makeup department, UK
Simon Barker	....	driver: cast, UK
Paul Brosman	....	facilities driver: UK
Miguel A. López Gallego	....	facilities driver: Spain
Alan Higman	....	facilities driver: UK
Cheryl Howard	....	facility vehicles
Nigel Howard	....	facility vehicles
Kevin Maher	....	driver: Ray Winstone, UK
Antonio Martín	....	facilities driver: Spain
Ian Maskell	....	facilities driver: UK
Ben Metcalfe	....	construction driver: UK
Julian Hernández Pérez	....	facilities driver: Spain
Jorge Ramos	....	facilities driver: Spain
Pablo Macías Risco	....	facilities driver: Spain
Agustín Ruiz	....	facilities driver: Spain (as Agustín Ruiz-Valdepeñas)
Dermot Smyth	....	driver: camera car, UK
Bernardino Villanueva	....	facilities driver: Spain
Tom Welding	....	driver: Ian McShane, UK
David N. Williams	....	property driver: UK (as David Williams)
Dale Wilson	....	facilities driver: UK

Divers
Jorge Adrados	....	production assistant
Luis Miguel Arranz	....	horse master: Spain
Hamish Bernie	....	production runner: Spain
Aaron Blackman	....	diver: underwater unit
Phil Brayley	....	caterer: UK
Pauline Brown	....	production accountant
Miguel Bustamante	....	assistant location manager: Spain
Joel Cadbury	....	instrumentation (as South)
Ralf Collie	....	stand-in: UK
Stuart Cook	....	post-production accountant
Leoni Cotgrove	....	secretary to producer: Spain
Amanda Coulter	....	production coordinator
Marta de Dios	....	assistant to producer
Sergio Díaz	....	location assistant: Spain
Sergio Díaz	....	runner: Spain
Geordie Divas	....	assistant location manager: UK
Florencio Dueñas	....	caterer: Spain (as Florencio Dueñas Cepada)
Joanna Dunn	....	assistant: Jonathan Glazer
Paul Elvin	....	caterer: UK
Jane Fryers	....	script supervisor
Linda Gamble	....	publicist
Doug Green	....	divers supervisor: underwater unit
Rod Haak	....	location manager: UK
John Hatfield	....	operator: photogonics unit
Mar Henche	....	production accountant
Darya Higginson	....	stand-in: UK
Nicolai Iuul	....	assistant to producer
Jocelyn Jones	....	assistant to producer
Stephan Mallmann	....	business affairs: Recorded Pictures Company
James McDonald	....	instrumentation (as South)
Mario de Aguilar Milanese	....	location scout: Spain
Lee Murphy	....	diver: underwater unit
Luis Navarro Merino	....	legal services: Lisbeth Savill-Olswang (as Luis Navarro)
Clive Noakes	....	laboratory contact: DeLuxe
Toni Novella	....	location manager: Spain
Mike Nugent	....	chef: UK
Alan Osmond	....	operator: photogonics unit
Raquel Palmero	....	production runner: Spain
Maxine Parker	....	assistant accountant: Spain
Gregg Pearson	....	armorer: UK
Harriet Perry	....	production assistant: UK
Peter Richardson	....	diver: underwater unit
Roasa	....	armorer (as Amería Roasa)
Erich Romero	....	production runner: Spain
Simon Scotland	....	supervising financial controller
Ricardo Serrano	....	production runner: Spain
Brett Shaw	....	instrumentation (as South)
Spike	....	runner
David Studwell	....	runner: UK
Mike Sylvester	....	caterer: UK
Nicolás Tapia	....	location assistant: Spain
Nicolás Tapia	....	runner: Spain
Jessica Thomas	....	runner: UK
Françoise Valentine	....	communications: underwater unit
Françoise Valentine	....	unit nurse: underwater unit
Antonio Vega	....	caterer: Spain
Amanda Warren	....	assistant production coordinator: UK
Chris Warren	....	video coordinator
Jonathan Warren	....	runner: UK
Jonathan Watts	....	operator: photogonics unit
James Wilson	....	production executive: FilmFour
Fred Woodcock	....	diver: underwater unit
Len Woodcock	....	diver: underwater unit
Aurora Yófera	....	production coordinator: Spain
Andrew Jack	....	dialect coach (uncredited)
Denis Pedregosa	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Merci
Richard Conway	....	special thanks
Andrew Hildebrand	....	thanks
Tracey Josephs	....	thanks
William Roberts	....	special thanks
Howard Shore	....	thanks
Justin Thomson-Glover	....	thanks
Paul Webster	....	thanks
David Wilder	....	thanks
Jon Wilson	....	thanks

Companies de production

• FilmFour
• Kanzaman
• Recorded Picture Company (RPC)

Distributeurs

• FilmFour (2001) (UK) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2001) (USA) (as Twentieth Century Fox) (all media)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2001) (USA) (theatrical) (a News Corporation company)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2002) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (2001) (France) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (2002) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Nexo (2001) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (2002) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Technicien des effets spéciaux

• Any Effects
• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (visual effects)
• Effects Associates (as Effects Associates)
• Succubus Creative Effects
• The Dream Factory (special effects makeup)

Autres Companies

• AFM Lighting  lighting equipment supplied by
• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance services (as AON/Albert G. Rubin)
• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• ARRI Media  grip equipment supplied by
• Alcigrip  grip equipment
• Capital Paramedics  first aid
• Chronopolis Films  developed in association with
• Cineaste Inc.  sound recording studio
• Construcciones Escénicas Moya S.L.  set construction (as Moya Construcciones Escenicas)
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color (as Deluxe)
• Duality Soundtracks  soundtrack
• Estudios Cinearte  music recorded and mixed at (as Studio Cinearte)
• Europcar  car hire
• Film Finance  completion bond
• General Screen Enterprises  titles and opticals
• Green Door Films  camera equipment provided by
• Grosvenor House Hotel  special thanks
• Home Recordings  music mixed at
• Image Film  film processing
• Joan Pearce Research Associates  script clearances
• Kodak  film stock
• London Film Commission  special thanks
• M Power Systems  car hire
• Mo' Wax Labels Ltd.  SOUTH appears courtesy of
• Mo' Wax Labels Ltd.  UNKLE appears courtesy of
• Mole Richardson  lighting equipment supplied by
• Olswang, Lisbeth, Savill  legal services (as Lisbeth Savill-Olswang)
• Pepper Post Production  video mastering
• Perdix Firearms Ltd.  armourer
• Peter Ken Associates  special thanks
• Rafael Hosteleria Internacional S.A.  catering (as Rafael Hostelería)
• Salon  editing equipment (as Salon)
• Sapex Scripts  post-production scripts
• Sason  editing equipment
• Servicevision  camera equipment provided by
• Soundtrax Music  music services
• Soundtree Music  music sourced by
• Travelmania  travel
• Videosonics Cinema Sound  sound re-recorded at
• Warner / Chappell Music  music published by (as Warner Chapell Publishing)
• Wessex Films  music recorded at (as Wessex)
• Wood Hall Catering  catering (as Woodhall Catering)
• Ángel Megino S.L.  facility vehicles

Autre(s) titre(s):

Sexy Beast (Spain)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, strong violence and some sexuality.

Durée:

89 min

Pays:

UK | Spain

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

Dolby Digital

Classification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Lieux de tournage:

Action Under Water Studios, Hertford Road, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Société:

FilmFour

Anecdotes:

The boulder was made of fiberglass. A large net was kept open on the ledge of the pool so that if the boulder went over the pool, it would not continue down the hill into the village below. Additional shots involving the boulder were created digitally.

Goofs:

Révélant des erreurs: A cord is clearly visible around the rabbit's leg during the rabbit hunting scene.

Guillemet:

Gal: I am going to have to turn this opportunity down.
Don: No, you are going to have to turn this opportunity yes!

Connexions:

figure dans 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)

Bande son:

Lujon

strong performances, interesting drama

In `Sexy Beast,' Ben Kingsley delivers a bone-chilling performance as the man everyone loves to hate, a role for which he earned not only universal critical acclaim but a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination as well. Don Logan is so evil that even his fellow mobster buddies fear and hate him. From our very first glimpse of him high-strutting his way through an airport terminal, Kingsley hits just the right note for his character. Cleverly, writers Louis Mellis and David Scinto have paved the way for this entrance by introducing Logan ahead of time in a series of conversations in which just the mere mention of his name sets off portentous reverberations amongst the people discussing him.

Chief among those people is the film's protagonist, Gal, Logan's `retired' ex-partner in crime, who wants nothing more than to be allowed to enjoy life undisturbed in his seaside Spanish villa with his swimming pool and the wife he loves so dearly. But Gal soon discovers that a person cannot escape his past forever, when Logan suddenly shows up at his doorstep demanding that Gal join his own personally hand-picked gang of seasoned criminals whom Logan has brought together to pull off a major heist back in Merry Olde England. Gal would like nothing better than to send Logan home packing empty handed, but he also knows that defying Logan can be the fastest route to an early demise. It is this atmosphere of fear and dread that director Jonathon Glazer uses to make `Sexy Beast' such an engrossing and off beat little crime drama.

In fact it is the THREAT of violence, far more than the violence itself, which distinguishes this tale. Without the use of weapons of any kind, Logan is able to cow and terrorize a roomful of reasonably fearless adults simply by his steely-eyed demeanor and the unpredictable nature of his temperament. Seemingly controlled and rational one moment, he can suddenly erupt into a volcano of exploding anger the next. One of the most chilling moments in the film occurs aboard a departing airplane in which Logan refuses to douse his cigarette, thereby precipitating a confrontation with the flight crew. Logan has that quality that distinguishes all great villains: he throws us back on our heels by his refusal to conform to the social amenities that the rest of us simply take for granted and which put us at a decided disadvantage when faced with the evil characters of the world who know no rules and flagrantly disregard the ones we follow. He reminds us of how weak and vulnerable the rest of us really are.

Logan, for all the intensity generated by his character, is not, however, the focal point of the film. Gal, brilliantly played by Ray Winstone, who provides a fascinating counterpoint to Logan's no-holds-barred villainy, occupies that position. Despite his criminal background, Gal wins us over by his openhearted frankness, his sincere devotion to his wife, friends and neighbors, and his obvious desire to lead a straight life from hereon out. Winstone underplays his scenes superbly, yet he never allows himself to be acted off the screen by the fiery Kingsley. (One should mention that the heavy cockney accents of the characters make what they are saying a bit incomprehensible at times).

As is not uncommon in gangster movies these days, Glazer manages to inject an element of black humor into the proceedings. The comedy often takes the form of twisted surrealism, such as when a giant boulder rolls down a nearby hillside and lands plop in Gal's beloved pool, barely missing taking Gal to the bottom with it. The filmmakers also have an effective way of heightening the tension through indirection, particularly in the early scenes which prime us to dread Logan's entrance as much as the characters who don't want to see him – and we haven't even met him yet. This technique of telegraphing information ahead of time contributes immensely to heightening the suspenseful quality of the film.

`Sexy Beast' provides superb performances, a nasty sense of humor and a fascinating glimpse into the dark side of human nature.