Stars: Daniel Craig, Kenneth Cranham, Dexter Fletcher, Jamie Foreman, Michael Gambon, Burn Gorman, Colm Meaney, George Harris

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Summary: The story of a successful London-based cocaine dealer who plans early retirement from the business. He is, however, handed an assignment which involves 'layers' through which he has to go in order to escape the modern underworld in which he is trapped. His final job threatens to bring him back into the 'cake mix'.

As deeply cool and urbane as its unnamed hero, LAYER CAKE follows the precise, articulate XXXX (Daniel Craig) as he manoeuvres through what he intends to be his last business deal in modern-day London. His business...Drugs. On the cusp of turning 30, XXXX has amassed a personal fortune, deftly avoiding the violence and ugliness so many others in his trade fall prey to by following a strict personal code defined by discretion and clean detachment from the products he sells. Just as XXXX is poised to cash in and get out, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham), the top layer of this particular underworld cake, hands down two tasks: find Eddie Temple's (Michael Gambon) drug-addicted daughter, and unload a mass of ecstasy stolen in Amsterdam by the sloppy, loud Duke (Jamie Foreman), who is exactly the type of wannabe gangster that XXXX has spent his career avoiding. Further complicating matters is Tammy (Sienna Miller), a sexy young blond who XXXX meets in a club and can't get off his mind. First-time director Michael Vaughn (producer on SNATCH and LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS) brings a practised eye to the film, creating a slick, highly entertaining visual style which perfectly complements the twisting storyline. The London drug world comes to vibrant life in screenwriter J.J. Connolly's adaptation of his first novel, which retains its keen ear for slang and its eye for detail, giving LAYER CAKE a thrilling ring of authenticity. In the role of XXXX, Daniel Craig has a commanding presence, portraying a man who is so good at his job that he may never be permitted to leave it, regardless of how smart he is or how well he's planned. Like the best in the crime-thriller genre, LAYER CAKE is unpredictable, unsettling, and unforgettable.

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Average User Rating:

Reviewed by: cooljimbop
Posted on July 20, 2005 3:15 PM

Although associated with Lock Stock and Snatch, this is not very similar to Guy Ritchie's films. A gangster thriller set in London, this has little to no comedy value. It has less stereotypical characters and glamarise's gangsters far less. The story is brilliant, with several arcs running alongside each other, then meeting at the end. The film is slick and polished and looks like it could have come out of Hollywood. It pushes the 15 rating at times so be warned. Far more serious than Snatch and Lock Stock, it may be an acquired taste.

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As its title suggests, Layer Cakeis a crime thriller that cuts into several levels of its treacherous criminal underworld. The title is actually one character's definition of the drug-trade hierarchy, but it's also an apt metaphor for the separate layers of deception, death, and betrayal experienced by the film's unnamed protagonist, a cocaine traffic middle-man played with smooth appeal by Daniel Craig (whom you probably don't need reminding is the latest James Bond). Listed in the credits only as "XXXX," the character is trapped into doing a favor for his volatile boss, only to have tables turned by his boss's boss (Michael Gambon) in a twisting plot involving a stolen shipment of Ecstasy, a missing girl, duplicitous dealers, murderous Serbian gangsters, and a variety of lowlifes with their own deadly agendas. As adapted by J.J. Connolly (from his own novel) and directed by Matthew Vaughan (who earned his genre chops as producer of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsand Snatch), Layer Cakeimproves upon those earlier British gangland hits with assured pacing, intelligent plotting, and an admirable emphasis on plot-moving dialogue over routine action. Sure, it's violent (that's to be expected) and not always involving, but it's smarter than most thrillers, and Vaughan's directorial debut has a confident style that's flashy without being flamboyant. This could be the start of an impressive career. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	2.40 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Director Writer Commentary, Weblink, Deleted Scenes, Q And A At The NFT With Matthew Vaughan And Daniel Craig, Making Of Promo, Music Video FC Kahuna Hayling, Storyboard Comparisons
Subtitles:	English, Hindi
Year:	2004
Release Date:	March 7, 2005
Runtime:	104 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C D R 36906
Keywords:	Two, General, Cake, Drama, Discs, Layer
Genre:	Drama