"That's a nice-a donut."
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Layer Cake (2005)
Even in the world of organized crime (or disorganized as the case may be), there is a pecking order. Just like how an entry-level employee in an organization reports to a low-level supervisor, who in turn reports to someone in middle management, who reports to someone even higher, there are rules and hierarchies in the criminal world. The ethics of it all even extend to competing factions where respect, and revenge for a lack of it, is common. The different levels of the system, including all the low-level thugs, the middlemen, the rogue characters, and the big bosses, are put forth in Layer Cake, from Michael Vaughn in his directorial debut.
Daniel Craig plays a nameless middle-aged man who bluntly states that he is not a gangster, but rather a businessman whose commodity just happens to be cocaine. But he has had enough of that lifestyle and wants to retire; after all he even has a legitimate side job. There is a catch though - Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham), the powerful head boss, has an assignment for him. Two, actually: he must find the missing daughter of an associate, and he must find a buyer for a very large stash of ecstasy. He takes the job of course, but must maneuver through the eventual web of deceit, lies, and death. His eyes are on completing the job but his mind is on staying alive.
Layer Cake tries to be a smart, complex story, but ends up getting rather bogged down in all the small twists and double crosses. And still, even though it is a relatively fast paced movie, I couldn't help but feel that it was kind of dull at times - been there, done that. The style is slick, but perhaps tries to be too hip for its own good. Why do so many movies about crime try to overload us with twists and turns? Just tell us a good story.
That being said, the movie presents some interesting dichotomies between the ruthless, evil criminal mindset of these characters and the human, emotional, sometimes fragile side of the profession. Much of the film's premise (along the lines of the "aging cop who is one week away from retirement, but suddenly gets involved in a difficult case" genre) is actually quite old and somewhat overused. But Craig breathes life into what could have been an unremarkable role and creates a tough, but genuine, and quite flawed man. However I wish that his colleagues and underlings could have been more developed. Note that Sienna Miller (now best known for Jude Law and the nanny scandal) pops in as a potential love interest for the main character in a side story that becomes rather crucial.
By the time the closing credits began to roll, I was generally satisfied with Layer Cake but not completely nourished. As with all too many films it seems, there was more promise and potential than was actually delivered. Don't misread me; this is a good movie. But it's rather disappointing when the best part of a movie is the opening sequence, which included an opening voiceover that I found mildly reminiscent of that in Trainspotting. And as for the nameless man? Well, as he states, "if you knew my name, you'd be as clever as me." Think about that.
The Verdict: B.
Michael Bentley 11:52 AM
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