Posted: 06/03/2005

Layer Cake

(2005)

by William Furlong

In the beginning, there was Guy Ritchie. He directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and it was good. Then he directed Snatch which was frustratingly identical to Lock, Stock and was enjoyable, if rather redundant. Then came Swept Away (starring Ritchie’s wife, Madonna - perhaps you’ve heard of her?) which had nothing in common with the first two films and was just plain bad. Lurking behind the scenes all the while was the producer of all three movies, Matthew Vaughn. Now Vaughn has climbed into the director’s chair to film his own version of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It’s called Layer Cake.

It’s a bit disappointing that Vaughn chose to direct a film so close in subject matter to Ritchie’s London gangster flicks. The sprawling cast of characters sporting underworld nicknames; the overlapping, interlocking back-flashing plot lines; the sudden, matter-of-fact flashes of brutal violence - they’re all here. The only real difference, and it’s a major one, is the tone of the piece. Vaughn abandons the goofy slapstick of Ritchie’s work in favor of a darker, grittier version of drug deals gone wrong, mob bosses gone mad.

Our hero’s name is XXXX (Daniel Craig), or rather; we’re never told his name. His opening voiceover informs us that he runs a quiet little drug distribution ring fronted by a real estate office. He has strict rules and grand plans, loyal friends and long standing business associates. Now he’s looking to leave it all behind to enjoy the spoils of his labor. Naturally, he has to finish one more job (a plot line that’s becoming a genre of its own.) for his insistent supplier. What could possibly go wrong? You name it. For all of XXXX’s careful planning, he’s surrounded by the kind of loud, shoot-first-ask-questions-never thugs who’d never think to stop and think. When a pseudo-gangster called The Duke (Jamie Foreman) snaps and robs a Serbian ethnic cleanser turned pill dealer of millions in product, the resulting shit storm blows away the thin trappings of criminal brotherhood and everyone scrambles to cover their asses - no matter what it takes. For the clever XXXX (we know he’s clever because everyone in the movie tells him so) this is like playing chess with rattlesnakes - not only do they not understand the rules, they can’t even hold the pieces.

The screenplay is based on a book of the same name, both written by J.J. Connolly, and he does a remarkable job of juggling all the characters and plot lines, setting up the double-crosses and quarterback fakes. Unfortunately, Vaughn doesn’t fare as well. I was often confused by the sheer number of characters and had a hard time keeping up with who worked for whom - details which lessened the dramatic payoff when so-and-so double crossed such-and-such. I could have used a little more time with some of the secondary characters, learning their affiliations or even their names. Further, even though everyone was technically speaking English, I failed to decipher some of the thicker British accents, especially when they were speaking off screen. Of course, this comes from a guy who had to turn on the subtitles for the entire run of The Office, so perhaps you’ll have a better time of it. When I could hear them, the performances ranged from adequate to great. Craig maintains a subtle calm throughout, and Colm Meany’s been-around-the-block Gene oozes menace even when he’s smiling. Especially when he’s smiling.

The film is shot beautifully. Vaughn cuts to and from scenes that haven’t happened yet, or that don’t quite make sense yet, and pulls it all together just before it becomes too frustrating. There’s a shockingly violent scene in a diner that employed shuddering point of view shots, perhaps the most visceral I’ve ever experienced. I felt like I was getting my ass kicked - call it pummel-vision, and for a moment I really feared these guys. It’s rare to experience fear in movies these days - scary movies, slaves to their own conceits, are rarely scary - but Vaughn got it right, at least for a moment. Conversely, there’s the requisite chase scene chopped up into second long takes, the kind of quick flash cuts that permeate action flicks these days, the kind that makes me want to close my eyes in protest.

Overall, this is a solid first film, if not entirely original. I felt like I’d seen it all before, but I absolutely loved the ending, surprising and entirely appropriate. Based on the reaction to Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn was given the reigns to direct X-Men 3, another movie with a huge cast of characters and sprawling plot lines. Oddly, just a few days ago, he pulled out for “personal reasons” - probably a good move for all concerned. The last thing Vaughn needs is the notoriously controlling producers over at Fox micro-managing his sophomore effort and the last thing we need are the X-Men botching a cocaine deal.

William Furlong is a writer living in Manhattan.

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