Sexy Beast

REVIEW
Ah, to be a retired British gangster on a Spanish villa, where your only concern is the boulder that fell in your swimming pool. Alas, this bliss doesn't last long enough for Gal (Winstone), who is visited by his old boss Don Logan (Kingsley), who wants Gal for "one last job" back in rainy old London. A battle of wills ensues between the two men, forming the core of a taut thriller/caper film that breathlessly uses tension, humor, suspense and a whole lot of menace to fan the fires of intimidation and murder. Kingsley is astonishing as the maniacal Logan, a torrent of brutality who at any moment could explode, only needing the slightest of reasons to do so. And Gal's reluctance to join him for a trip back to England could just do the trick. Winstone strikes the proper balance to Kingsley's volcanic gangster, giving Gal a tranquility that Don would never have, a subtlety that his ex-boss would never possess, and fear that only Logan could instill.