Directed By: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redmon
Tag line: "Sometimes It's Hard To Say No"
Trivia: Ben Kingsley claims the character of Don Logan is largely based on his grandmother
Gal (Ray Winstone) is a retired thief. Having been, for many years, a member of London’s criminal underbelly (a lifestyle that resulted in a nine-year prison stint), he now resides in a villa on the Spanish coast, where he spends his days in the company of his adoring wife, DeeDee (Amanda Redmon).
Sure, a runaway boulder just damaged his swimming pool, but Gal can’t complain; for him, life is now pretty damn good.
While out to dinner one evening with friends Aitch (Cavan Kendall) and Jackie (Julianne White), Gal receives some disturbing news: an acquaintance from his days in London has just called Jackie, and is coming to Spain to ask for Gal’s help with a new heist.
No worries, Gal tells them. He’s retired now, and has no intention of returning to his former life of crime.
But there's more to it than that. A lot more!
With terror in her eyes, Jackie tells Gal that the call came from Don Logan (Sir Ben Kingsley).
All at once, the table grows silent. Gal tries to shrug the news off by ordering a plate of calamari, but he is visibly nervous.
Don Logan is coming to Spain to see him.
Shit. Don Logan.
This is a great scene from director Jonathan Glazer’s 2000 movie Sexy Beast, and it works to perfection. At this point, we the audience have no idea who this Don Logan is, but judging from the faces of Gal and his companions, he is obviously not someone you want to mess with.
Still, we wonder "what's the big deal"? After all, how bad can Don Logan really be?
The next morning, he flies in. We meet him. We watch him interact with Gal and the others. Not three minutes pass, and our question of “how bad can Don Logan be” is answered.
Pretty damn bad!
Don Logan is like no film character I’ve ever seen. This is a man with no fear. None. He is arrogant, angry, and violent. To borrow a quote from Denzel Washington in Training Day, King Kong ain’t got shit on Don Logan!
Sir Ben Kingsley is a tremendous actor, and over the years he has portrayed some of the cinema’s most sympathetic characters. He was wonderful as Itzhak Stern, the man who helped Oskar Schindler save over a thousand Jews from the Nazi ovens in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. In fact, Kingsley’s very first major film role was the title character in Richard Attenborough’s award-winning epic Gandhi, playing a man who abhorred violence.
Well, with Don Logan, it seems the great actor is equally at-home playing pricks as he is saints. Kingsley completely disappears behind the wild, volatile eyes of Don Logan, building his character piece by piece, sneer by sneer, and insult by insult. It is a truly remarkable performance.
When I think back on the movie villains I’ve learned to hate, I’m reminded of characters like Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance in a film of the same name, Stephen Boyd’s Messala in Ben-Hur, and Ralph Fiennes’ Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List.
These were detestable characters, to be sure, and now I can add Don Logan - a vile, despicable man with no redeeming qualities whatsoever - to that list.
I dare you to like anything about Don Logan!
It's been some time since seeing Sexy Beast, and the only thing I do remember very well is Ben Kingsley's terrific performance! Having only known him for his good guy roles at that point, I was shocked and amazed at how easily he fit the role of Logan. I need to re-watch this one.
ReplyDelete@Klaus: I try to watch SEXY BEAST at least once a year. I agree with you: Kingsley is sensational, and I was as taken aback as you were at how well he plays bad. I also thought Ray Winstone and Amanda Redmon had great chemistry together.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up a copy this past weekend. I'll be re-watching soon.
ReplyDelete@Klaus: Enjoy!
ReplyDelete