(2001) ...Dir. Jonathan Glazer
"Oh yeah. Bloody hell. I'm sweating here. Roasting. Boiling. Baking. Sweltering. It's like a sauna. Furnace. You can fry an egg on my stomach. Ohh. Who wouldn't lap this up? It's ridiculous. Tremendous. Fantastic. Fan-dabby-dozy-tastic."
Sexy Beast opens with what may be my favorite first scene in film history. When I started making this list, I was a little bit shocked to learn that the movie is only nine years old. I sincerely feel like it has been a part of my cinematic consciousness forever (granted, I haven't been alive and conscious of movies long enough for nine years to be so negligible).
I'll forever love Ray Winstone for his turn as retired English gangster Gal Dove (as if Winstone's track record isn't pretty damn solid, as is). All supporting performances more than measure up to the impeccably written dialogue, but Ben Kingsley is most impressive as Don Logan, one of the nastiest motherfuckers you'll ever see on screen. Just you wait.
My disclosure of this Decade List has proven incredibly fitful. Two weeks ago I posted my Honorable Mentions and I've only just made it to #8, publishing each subsequent post with no regularity whatsoever. As a preface to that list of Honorable Mentions, I mentioned that some movies on this list have taken on a sort of legendary quality in my mind, have become so near to my heart and embedded in my memory that I can no longer be trusted to fairly assess or discuss them. A less neurotic person might call them Favorites.
Sexy Beast is doubtlessly one of my Favorites. So instead of blathering on and on, I'll just shut up and let you watch it for yourself. You're welcome.
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