A successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement.A successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement.A successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 wins & 9 nominations total
Nathalie Lunghi
- Charlie
- (as Natalie Lunghi)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIt was Daniel Craig's performance in this movie that caused producer Barbara Broccoli to take notice and think he might be a good fit for James Bond.
- GoofsSlavo and Dragan are supposed to be Serbians but they speak Romanian.
- Quotes
Eddie Temple: You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake son.
- Crazy creditsThe film title appears on a door that XXXX walks through.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Becoming Bond (2006)
- SoundtracksHayling
Written by Daniel Ormondroyd, Jon Nowell, Hafdís Huld and Jon Collyer
Published by Copyright Control
Performed by FC Kahuna
Courtesy of Skint Records
Featured review
I can IMPOSSIBLY outline the plot of Matthew Vaughn's Layer Cake, so I'll just say it's about a nameless guy (Daniel Craig) doing some criminal stuff in London.
In my observation there are three approaches to gangster characters in crime films: 1) The overly-amateurish 'gangsters' that are scared sh*t and mess up, like in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 2) The kind of gangster who is an amateur, but picks up on criminal ways quickly and effortlessly if the occasion calls for it, like Max the cab driver from Collateral and 3) The stone-cold professionals who can do whatever, whenever with whatever, like any mob-boss, contract killer, etc.
What is so endlessly refreshing about Layer Cake (2004) is that it applies none of these approaches to its main character Daniel Craig. He is a drug-dealer, but reluctantly resorts to violent ways. He hates guns. Murders and violence disturb him. He takes time to cope with things. He shows fear and hesitation. He actually bleeds when he is hit. In short, he is an extremely realistic person and this facilitates the film's realistic atmosphere - there's no glossy visuals or over-the-top violence.
Now, it is my opinion that Layer Cake could have perhaps used some of the latter to spice things up. Its director is the producer of Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and it is clear here that he is trying to move away from flashy Ritchie editing and effects as much as possible, making his own film just a bit too barren in order to be 'different'. It works fine, but as a result, the gangster characters aren't very funny or colourful - rather they are down-to-earth London men trying to make a living. A shady living, true, but still a living.
A few bland characters and an extra-template romantic storyline featuring Sienna Miller (I like her, but she is redundant in this film) drag this film down, but overall it is a very solid crime thriller, superbly acted by Daniel Craig. The score is great. In particular, please note the great use of "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran. Layer Cake isn't gloriously entertaining or anything but it feels very real and engaging and it is interesting to see the acting abilities of future Mr Bond - as well as his bare chest.
7/10
In my observation there are three approaches to gangster characters in crime films: 1) The overly-amateurish 'gangsters' that are scared sh*t and mess up, like in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 2) The kind of gangster who is an amateur, but picks up on criminal ways quickly and effortlessly if the occasion calls for it, like Max the cab driver from Collateral and 3) The stone-cold professionals who can do whatever, whenever with whatever, like any mob-boss, contract killer, etc.
What is so endlessly refreshing about Layer Cake (2004) is that it applies none of these approaches to its main character Daniel Craig. He is a drug-dealer, but reluctantly resorts to violent ways. He hates guns. Murders and violence disturb him. He takes time to cope with things. He shows fear and hesitation. He actually bleeds when he is hit. In short, he is an extremely realistic person and this facilitates the film's realistic atmosphere - there's no glossy visuals or over-the-top violence.
Now, it is my opinion that Layer Cake could have perhaps used some of the latter to spice things up. Its director is the producer of Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and it is clear here that he is trying to move away from flashy Ritchie editing and effects as much as possible, making his own film just a bit too barren in order to be 'different'. It works fine, but as a result, the gangster characters aren't very funny or colourful - rather they are down-to-earth London men trying to make a living. A shady living, true, but still a living.
A few bland characters and an extra-template romantic storyline featuring Sienna Miller (I like her, but she is redundant in this film) drag this film down, but overall it is a very solid crime thriller, superbly acted by Daniel Craig. The score is great. In particular, please note the great use of "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran. Layer Cake isn't gloriously entertaining or anything but it feels very real and engaging and it is interesting to see the acting abilities of future Mr Bond - as well as his bare chest.
7/10
- Flagrant-Baronessa
- Aug 9, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- No todo es lo que parece
- Filming locations
- Stoke Park House, Park Road, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(first meeting with Jimmy Price)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,339,957
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $81,706
- May 15, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $11,850,214
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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