Thomas’s review published on Letterboxd:
Jonathan Glazer´s debut film is a British gangster/heist movie that adds an original arthouse twist to the genre formular. “Sexy Beast” has an intoxicating rhythm and brims with style. You can analyze the film as an existentialist examination of the gangster lifestyle and the types of people involved in it or you simply enjoy the fun performances, sexy filmmaking, and overdose of obscene British cursing. One thing that sets “Sexy Beast” apart from many other films of the genre is that the lead-up to the heist has more tension than the heist itself. You see, our protagonist played by Ray Winstone is retired and doesn´t want to do another job but Ben Kingsley´s character, who approaches him for the job, doesn´t take a no for an answer. Winstone´s performance is nuanced, layered, and understated and he deserves a lot of praise for it but there is no doubt that Ben Kingsley towers over everything in this movie. Kingsley delivers one of the most entertaining psychopath villain performances in the history of cinema and every second of his screentime is pure gold. He is so good that it´s easy to overlook that in the final act, Ian McShane delivers quite a menacing villain performance, as well. Two great villains in one movie, what a treat. Another treat is Jonathan Glazer´s skilled, stylish, and energetic direction, which makes it hard to believe that this was his first feature film. The movie has a fantastic opening, a fantastic ending, a fantastic montage in the middle, and the heist itself is incredibly creative and well-filmed as well. And all that in breezy 90 minutes. For fans of unconventional gangster films, “Sexy Beast” is an essential watch. It´s also interesting to see this debut film in context of Glazer´s filmography. While the audiovisual artistry is already there, you probably wouldn´t have expected that he would follow up this slick gangster film with creepy mindfuck movies like “Birth” and “Under the Skin”.
