No plot spoilers here, but would say that there are certain parallels between what befalls the evil, soul-chomping antagonist, Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) and what eventually happens to the equally insensitive British mobster, Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) in Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Kingsley is definitely the menacing lynchpin holding this movie together, though Ian McShane is not far behind him in his portrayal of a believably evil crime lord. Ray Winstone is an inspiration to middle-aged, beer-bellied Buddhas everywhere. Amanda Redman is a revelation as Gal's ex-porn star spouse. She plays the slow boil to perfection. Julian White is also superb playing the wife of Gal's slightly dim buddy, Aitch.

Which brings us to one of the minor qualifiers I have to warn viewers about. Unless you've grown up in one of the grubbier, East End sections of London, a lot of the dialogue is going to be incomprehensible to you. This is particularly true of Aitch (Cavan Kendall, Kay Kendall's brother). I would definitely recommend the DVD, as opposed to the VHS purchase, as the DVD has a subtitle feature. I can honestly say I was lost without it, before I utilized the function. Kendall also mumbles his lines, as do several other characters. Mumbling and thick, cockney accents do not make for easy comprehension on the part of American viewers.

This film has a workmanlike plot, with strong performances from all hands. It's great, gritty, black comedy. The funniest thing I've heard for a while is the statement made by Kingsley that he based his character of Don Logan on his grandmother. She must have been quite a lady! I've also discovered, via IMDB, that there may be a link between the guy in the bunny suit and the anti-Harvey in Donnie Darko.

BEK

The scenes between Gal and Don in this script by Louis Mellis and David Scinto strike me as what Harold Pinter would produce if he was writing about gangsters and went overboard on the profanity. A conversation with Don is taking your life into your hands and Gal knows it, quietly dancing around the fatal rejection for as long as he can. Kingsley's Don is one of the scariest men ever to appear in a film, although I am not sure how much of that has to be the sheer shock at the idea that it is "Gandhi" on the screen who is launching into foul-mouthed tirades and radiating danger with every look and action (all without ever having a gun in his hand, I should add). This performance is astounding, and if it is unexpected that is only because we have taken Sir Ben for granted for a long time. Kingsley lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Jim Broadbent, who had an advantage with strong performances in "Moulin Rouge" and "The Diary of Bridget Jones" to go along with the one for which he won in "Iris," but this is an unforgettable performance, assuming you get around to seeing the film.

Kingsley's performance is so overwhelming that you may well fail to notice how strong Winstone is as the film's lead. After all, it is Gal who is the title character, but Winstone's performance is so understated that it is can be rather underwhelming, especially in the face of Kingsley's performance. The other thing that almost gets lost is the plot, because there is something that can be gotten if only there is the will, because the way will be right behind. The caper is just crazy enough to make sense given the proceedings and we have to keep in mind that no matter how much of a mad dog Don Logan might be, there is somebody holding his leash at the other end. "Sexy Beast" is a very good film with more than one outstanding performance, but it is not going to be to everyone's taste given the violence and the profanity, although both are true to the world of these characters.