In Sexy Beast, Ben Kingsley does an impressive job playing an intimidating, ego-driven thug with a great deal of psychotic tendencies, but is that really the character that this film needed? I honestly didn't think so.

Major spoiler alert for everything below...I can't really explain why I didn't like the film without revealing the entire plot :P

Sexy Beast starts off with a retired British bank robber named Gal has tried to escape his past on an estate in Spain with his wife, a similarly retired porn star. He is friends with Teddy, whose association remains unclear...I guess he was "in the business" as well, and Jackie, who both seem entirely devastated when they get a call from Don [Ben Kingsley] requesting Gal's services. The overly dramatic response seems unsuitable later in the film.

Gal promises his wife, DeeDee that he won't take the job. He builds up his character as arrogant and assertive, but does a 180 as soon as Don arrives, becoming ridiculously submissive. Don refuses to allow him to turn down the offer, yelling, offering some amusing British trash-talk, and general shoving him around.

Interspersed are a few cheesy dream sequences complete with exaggerated and contrived symbolism. Don eventually realizes that Gal just isn't going to show up to the rendezvous if he leaves, so he gets off the plane and returns to Gal's. In the process of roughing him up, DeeDee eventually shoots Don. Twice.

The entire point of the opening seems to be that Gal relies on his wife to solve his problems and that Don has a combination of psychosis including obsessive-compulsive disorder, and multiple personality disorder. None of these are ever exhibited at the same time, however, making them almost seem like they were thrown in just to prove that Kingsley can play a variety of different roles. In all, he overshadows the plot entirely, despite the fact that he dies about halfway through the film.

The bank robbery itself is almost inconsequential, with a few interesting plot devices like the death of Don paralleled with the break-in. There's some random and unnecessary homoerotica is thrown in regarding the bank owner and the leader of the job, and the way the alarm system is bypassed seemed entirely unrealistic. Perhaps the point was to poke fun at heist movies in general. If so I suppose it was mildly successful at that, but the way it was marketed doesn't indicate that this is the case.

Nuances aside, there were numerous instances of in-your-face symbolism that are well-suited to short music videos that need to express their point with clarity and brevity, but with theatrical releases it seems to condescend the intellect of the viewer. I found this surprising given that Glazer's videos (particularly Street Spirit, produced for Radiohead) are often left with a pretty ambiguous resolution.

Glazer found his niche a while ago, and should probably stick to that.

A good, not great movie, but it establishes Ben Kingsley as one of the best actors currently working. I'm in awe of this man's talent. To me, the greatest, most accomplished actor is one who can play roles that are essentially polar-opposites, and play them with seamless authenticity. Kingsley succeeds magnificently at this. Consider that in "Gandhi" he portrayed perhaps the most famous pacifist of the 20th century (and won an Oscar for Best Actor), and in "Sexy Beast" he played the psychopathic Cockney hood Don Logan with blistering, fearsome intensity. He's been in his share of junk movies, but manages to bring a solemn dignity even to these fatuous parts. Absolutely one of the best actors around.