Layer Cake



I watched this pretty nifty British gangster movie from Matthew Vaughn a couple nights ago. It isn’t anything groundbreaking in the genre, and it pales compared to Snatch (2000), but I enjoyed it.

If you see it on DVD, make sure you watch the deleted scene called “Sydney and Sam.” I found that scene essential to figuring out exactly what happened at the very end of the movie. It really shouldn’t have been cut from the movie, though it certainly isn’t related to the main narrative.

It’s interesting that Layer Cake’s director Matthew Vaughn was at one point tapped to be the director of the third X-Men movie. Vaughn’s visual style is very similar to the one Bryan Singer used in X2: X-Men United (2003), right down to the seamless edits by panning and the Hitchcock references.


"Okay, you can call me 'Jude,' but I want to call you 'Pussy Galore.'"

Layer Cake’s unnamed main character is played by Daniel Craig, who is rumored to be the next actor to play James Bond. Though most of the press seems to be obsessed by his blond hair, I note that he isn’t as much of a pretty boy as the last couple actors in the role. I’m hoping this means that the next Bond movie, which will be yet another version of Casino Royale, will be less glamorous and more genuinely thrilling.

Posted: Thu - October 13, 2005 at      

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