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Coiled
to Strike
Life is good, then perfectly
beastly.
By Lois
Wadsworth
SEXY BEAST: Directed by Jonathan Glazer.
Written by Louis Mellis, David Scinto. Produced by Jeremy Thomas, Denise O'Dell.
Cinematographer, Ivan Bird. Music, Roque Baños. Editors, John Scott, Sam Sneade.
Production design, Jan Houllevigue. Art direction, James Alexander-Hamilton, Steve
Simmonds, Marcus Wookey. Costumes, Louise Stjernsward. Starring Ray Winstone and
Ben Kingsley, with Ian McShane, Amanda Redman, Cavan Kendall, Julianne White, Alvaro
Monje and James Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2001. R. 88 minutes.
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Ben Kingsley and
Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast.
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This outrageously entertaining film by first-feature director Jonathan
Glazer is a caper flick that actually deserves the label "unique." Its
scenes shot in bright sunshine look good, but what stays with you are the haunting,
surreal glimpses of a dancing demon figure and occasional violent, vicious moments
that fracture the narrative.
Gary "Gal" Dove (Ray Winstone), is a likable, emotional
kind of guy who loves lounging around his dazzling azure swimming pool on Spain's
Costa del Sol. A happy guy who adores his wife, DeeDee (Amanda Redman), he's left
his checkered London past behind. His bêtes noires -- two black beasts
shadow Gal's sunny side -- are Don Logan (Ben Kingsley), an enforcer from the London
mob who arrives in paradise to squire Gal back for one more job, and the corrupt,
soulless Teddy Bass (Ian McShane), who sends Don to Spain. Teddy's a dark, brooding
boss who kills without question and without mercy.
All film noir is derivative, but at least Glazer avoids the irony
of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and
his movie is genuinely scarier, funnier and more human for it. The film compares
well with Mike Hodges' cool, complicated casino heist film, Croupier (2000),
although the feeling tone here is several notches warmer and the violence more graphic.
It stands up to Steven Soderbergh's gorgeous revenge film, The Limey (1999),
as another thoroughly convincing portrait of an East End London criminal.
Associations to Nicholas Roeg and Donald Cammell's Performance
(1970) are triggered by the first image of James Fox, here a bank manager named Harry,
there a duplicitous East End gangster on the run named Chaz. The image of burrowing
through cement near the end of Beast mirrors the bullet tunneling into Turner's
(Mick Jagger) skull in Performance.
The movie opens on Gal's softly crooning voice extolling the virtues
of the sun, then explodes into saturated colors. Gal's beefy torso is stretched out
near the pool, where his sexually ambiguous pool boy, Enrique (Alvaro Monje), dances
with a push broom. Minutes later, Gal has a brush with death, as a gigantic boulder
careens off the hillside above the hacienda and splashes into the pool. Sobered by
this sudden omen, Gal is visibly shaken but not really surprised when Jackie (Julianne
White) tells him that Don has called from London and will arrive tomorrow. Jackie's
the wife of Gal's best friend, Aitch (Cavan Kendall), and she is upset.
Winstone (Nil By Mouth, The War Zone) is letter-perfect
as Gal, who remembers how to fit in with his old cronies but just can't do it anymore.
He's not mean enough to stand up to them, but he is man enough to accept humiliation
as the price for his life and peace.
Kingsley makes Don a cyclonic madman, single-minded and ruthless.
Don's face is so rigid and his body so tense that he's menacing like a hammerhead
shark. In a scene in the kitchen, Don purposefully advances on Gal as if to strike
him, holding his arms stiffly at his side -- very threatening body language. Believe
the ads! With this role, Kingsley will finally be rid of Gandhi. He's never
been as coiled as here -- hard-bodied, clipped speech, ready to go for it.
Violence among gangsters is OK by me. One of the best films we've
had in awhile, it opens at the Bijou Friday, Aug. 3. Highest recommendation.
OPENING
OR RETURNING:
Films open the Friday following date of EW publication unless
otherwise noted.
Original Sin: The preview's run for months, so you know that
Angelina Jolie is the possibly unfaithful wife of Antonio Banderas in this thriller.
Bet you didn't know it's set in the 1880s, that he's a Cuban coffee impresario, and
she's his mail-order bride. Credit or blame goes to filmmaker Michael Cristofer,
who adapted the same novel Truffaut used for Mississippi Mermaid (1969). R.
Cinema World. Cinemark.
Princess Diaries, The: Directed by Garry Marshall, this
comedy about a S.F. teen who finds out she's a princess stars Anne Hathaway, Hector
Elizondo, Julie Andrews, Robert Schwartzman and Heather Matarazzo. G. Cinema World.
Cinemark.
Rush Hour 2: Brett Ratner returns to direct Jackie Chan
and Chris Tucker as detectives who travel to Hong Kong, LA and Vegas looking for
a master criminal. Also stars Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, The Road Home).
PG-13. Cinemark.
Sexy Beast: Brilliant, violent but darkly comic caper flick
directed by Brit Jonathan Glazer stars the fabulous Ray Winstone (The War Zone,
Nil By Mouth) and rescues the great Ben Kingsley from his Gandhi role
for good. Highest recommendation. R. Bijou. See
review.
CONTINUING
A.I.: Steven Spielberg directs this film, based
loosely on a project of the late Stanley Kubrick and a story by sci-fi writer Brian
Aldiss. In a future filled with environmental catastrophes, Haley Joel Osment plays
an 11-year old android aware of his own existence who wants to become a boy. Sexy
star Jude Law plays a sex toy. Also stars Frances O'Connor and William Hurt. Imperfect
gotta-see movie. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review.
Along Came a Spider: Morgan Freeman stars as Detective Alex
Cross in the prequel to Kiss the Girls, this time with Monica Potter as his
partner. Directed by Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors), thriller also stars
Dylan Baker and Michael Wincott. R. Movies. 12.
America's Sweethearts: Directed by Joe Roth as a spoof on
Hollywood's publicity industry, a famous Hollywood couple played by Catherine Zeta-Jones
and John Cusack) try to fool movie critics on a junket that they're still together.
Also stars Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Hank Azaria. Stanley Tucci, Christopher
Walken, Alan Arkin and Seth Green. Cinemark. Cinema World. PG-13.
Animal, The: Wimp Marvin (Rob Schneider) becomes a super
cop after surgery following an accident leaves him with animal organs. Now, his instincts
are taking over, and it isn't a nice picture. Luke Greenfield makes his directorial
debut; also stars Coleen Haskell. PG-13. Movies 12.
Cats and Dogs: An inside look at pet wars at home while
grown up people are at work. Kitty (Sean Hayes, voice) has grandiose plans other
critters want to stop. Live-action comedy directed by Larry Guterman also features
animatronic, computer-generated action. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Chocolat: Lasse Hallström's 2000 film stars Juliette
Binoche (best actress nom), Johnny Depp and Judi Dench (supporting actress nom).
A sexy, free spirited woman causes a scandal in a small church-going town when she
opens a chocolate shop. PG-13. Movies 12. See review.
Crocodile Dundee in L.A.: Simon Wencer directs the return
of the old Aussie fave played by Paul Hogan, with Linda Kozlowski as the love interest.
PG. Movies 12.
Dr. Dolittle 2: Eddie Murphy is back as the good doctor,
but the animals have changed. They've become activists who plan to go on strike to
save their forest in Steve Carr's new film. And they're hungry for sex advice. PG.
Cinemark.
Evolution: David Duchovny and Julianne Moore star in an
Ivan Reitman summer comedy about pterodactyls and meteors. PG-13. Movies 12.
Fast and The Furious, The: Undercover cop (Paul Walker)
infiltrates gang-like LA street racing teams in Rob Cohen's action-adventure that
also stars Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight). PG-13. Cinemark.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within: Computer-generated human
characters live in 2065, when a meteor bearing millions of alien creatures crashes
into Earth. Only the beautiful scientist, Dr. Aki Ross, can save the planet. Directed
by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Voiced by Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames,
Donald Sutherland and James Wood. PG-13. Cinemark.
Joe Dirt, The Adventures of: Comedy directed by Dennie Gordon
stars David Spader as a dunce who's on a quest to find the parents who dumped him
at the Grand Canyon when he was 8 years old. PG-13. Movies 12.
Jurassic Park 3: Sam Neill reprises his role as paleontologist
Grant. Joe Johnston directs. Grant takes a rich adventurer (William H. Macy) and
his wife (Téa Leoni) for a fly-by of the forbidden island. Lots of dinosaurs!
PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Kiss of the Dragon: Jet Li action thriller co-stars Bridget
Fonda. Directed by Chris Nahon, it's set in Paris where Li is wrongly accused of
murder, and Fonda has been forced into prostitution. R. Movies 12.
Knight's Tale, A: Aimed at 12-year-olds, this medieval adventure
fantasy stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell. Directed by
Brian Helgeland, co-writer of L.A. Confidential. PG-13. Movies 12.
Legally Blonde: Reese Witherspoon stars as Elle Woods, a
LA girl and a natural blonde, who leaves her plush digs for Harvard Law School to
persuade her reluctant boyfriend, Warner (Matthew Davis), that she's the one for
him. Directed by Robert Luketic. Also stars Selma Blair, Victor Garber, Holland Taylor,
Jennifer Coolidge and Luke Wilson. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Moulin Rouge: Director Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom,
Romeo and Juliet) sets this fabulous dramatic musical extravaganza in the
summer of love, Paris, 1899. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor make a great romantic
pair, and John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent and Richard Roxburgh are excellent players.
Everybody wants to work at the all-singing, all-dancing Moulin Rouge shows. Very
highly recommended. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives.
Mummy Returns, The: Starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz
star in this thriller directed by Stephen Sommers. PG-13. Movies 12.
Planet of the Apes: Re-imagining of the 1968 original by
filmmaker Tim Burton, it sports advanced techno trends in makeup design for quicker-witted,
stronger apes who act more like real ones. They still speak English on a new planet
that's not Earth but a parallel world, described by The New York Times as
"darker and more primeval, with lush forests, treacherous jungles and Cubist-inspired
architecture." Stars Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan,
Paul Giamatti and Tim Roth. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Road Home, The: Zhang Yimou's (Not One Less.) beautiful
film starring Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) evokes a world that
has been swept away by change. Set in a remote Chinese village today and in the 1950s,
it's a touching love story set in a more fully lived time. Highly recommended. G.
Bijou. See
review .
Score, The: This Frank Oz action movie stars Robert De Niro
as a career criminal who breaks his own rule to take a comely partner (Angela Bassett)
on a heist. Also stars Edward Norton, Marlon Brando. R. Cinemark. See review.
Shrek: Computer-animated fairy tale (by DreamWorks' Pacific
Data Images, makers of Antz) stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
and John Lithgow. Entertaining and funny for kids and grown-ups. PG. Cinemark. Cinema
World. See
review.
Tailor of Panama, The: John Boorman's film, based on a John
le Carré novel, stars Pierce Brosnan as a bored British agent who puts the
moves on Catherine McCormack while tying his fate to a British ex-con (Geoffrey Rush)
married to Jamie Lee Curtis. Surprisingly well-done, it's highly recommended. R.
Movies 12. See
review.
What's the Worst That Could Happen: Thief Martin Lawrence
and businessman Danny DeVito star in this Sam Weisman comedy about a ring DeVito
steals off of Lawrence's hand as he's taken off to jail. Revenge ensues, with comic
results. With John Leguizamo, Glenne Headley, William Fichtner and Bernie Mac. PG-13.
Movies 12.
MOVIE
THEATERS
Use the links provided below for specific show times.
Bijou
Art Cinemas
Bijou Theater 686-2458 | 492 E. 13th
Regal
Cinemas
Cinema World 342-6536 | Valley River
Center
Springfield Quad 726-9073 |
Cinemark
Theaters
Movies 12 741-1231 | Gateway
Mall
Movies before 12:30 are Sat. Sun. only. $1.50 all shows all days.
Cinemark 17 741-1231 | Gateway Mall
NEW RELEASES
ON VIDEO:
Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of
EW publication, sometimes sooner:
Chocolat: Lasse Hallström's popular film stars Juliette Binoche (best actress
nom), Johnny Depp and Judi Dench (supporting actress nom). It's about the scandal
a sexy, free spirited woman causes in a small town when she opens a chocolate shop.
PG-13. See review.
Everlasting Piece, An: Barry Levinson's tale of two wig
vendors' preposterous schemes to sell their product never played Eugene theatrically.
Set in Northern Ireland, the film also has a serious side. R.
Recess: School's Out: Animated Disney film's about a plot
to create permanent winter. Hard to overcome what The NY Times review calls
its "visual deficit." G.
Three Thousand Miles to Graceland: Kevin Costner and Kurt
Russell arrive in Vegas decked out like Elvis, intending to rob the casino, but plans
go wrong. Demian Lichenstein directs; David Arquette, Christian Slater also star.
The NY Times calls it a "bloated spectacle" and cautions about its
"wall-to-wall violence." R.
Time and Tide: Action adventure directed by Hong Kong film
master Tsui Hark, whose films are rated among the best in the genre. Never played
Eugene. R.
Vatel: Period pic directed by Roland Joffé (The Mission)
is set in the 1770s court of French King Louis XIV (Julian Sands) and involves a
doomed romance between Uma Thurman and Gerard Depardieu, who plays the king's celebrity
chef. Didn't play Eugene theaters. PG-13.
Next week: Blow Dry, Dancing in September, Enemy at the
Gates, Fifteen Minutes, Get Over It, Josie and the Pussycats and Tomcats.
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