Sexy Beast (2000)
89%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
21 wins & 21 nominations total
Sexy Beast rises above other movies in the British gangster genre due to its performances — particularly an electrifying one by Ben Kingsley — and the script’s attention to character development
Sexy Beast is a crime film that will leave you breathless with its audacity and visual drama. Kingsley’s performance as the prince of darkness disguised as a human being is nothing short of forbidding. The movie is a stylish and innovative British crime drama that has stood the test of time very well. It’s a visceral, mostly captivating thriller that features one of modern cinema’s very best villains. Overall, Sexy Beast is a movie that occasionally gets caught between two worlds, but it does so with such swagger that it’s hard to begrudge its wicked ways.
Production Company(ies)
El Deseo Antena 3 Televisión Good Machine
Distributor
Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Agua Amarga, Almería, Andalucía, Spain
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive language, strong violence and some sexuality
Year of Release
2001
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 28m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 2000 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2005
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman, Cavan Kendall, Julianne White, directed by Jonathan Glazer, written by Louis Mellis, David Scinto, Comedy, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Anthony Lane, David Ansen, Sara Michelle Fetters, Susan Stark, Joshua Katzman, Brian Eggert, Alistair Lawrence, Tom Meek, Leigh Paatsch, produced by Jeremy Thomas, R MPAA rating, gangster genre,
Worldwide gross: $10,045,893
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $16,930,227
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,771
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,846,263
US/Canada gross: $6,946,056
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,706,108
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,571
US/Canada opening weekend: $170,356
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $287,099
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,554
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ben Kingsley – Don Logan
Ian McShane – Teddy Bass
Amanda Redman – Deedee
Cavan Kendall – Aitch
Julianne White – Jackie
Director – Jonathan Glazer
Producer – Jeremy Thomas
Writers – Louis Mellis, David Scinto
Director(s)
Jonathan Glazer
Writer(s)
Louis Mellis, David Scinto
Producer(s)
Jeremy Thomas
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
21 wins & 21 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (137) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (119) | Rotten (18)
A crime film like no other, Sexy Beast is composed of moments of startling audacity, visual and dramatic, that arrive in waves, just long enough for you to catch your breath before the next.
July 3, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The movie needs to be seen for its clean compositions, for its sure touch of fantasy, and, above all, for the forbidding presence of Kingsley-the prince of darkness, lightly disguised as a human being.
September 14, 2020
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
The talented Glazer keeps things crisp, clean and purposeful. The only flab on this film is around the waist of its sybaritic hero, a working-class crook who has finally gotten a taste of the good life, and doesn’t want to lose it.
March 31, 2008
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Like Lee Marvin from Point Blank or Michael Caine in (the original) Get Carter, he’s a force of nature; a hurricane-like dervish once unleashed cannot be contained.
June 19, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/4
Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
TOP CRITIC
October 30, 2001 | Rating: 3/4
Susan Stark
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Aside from [Glazer’s] visual flair and gallows humor, he’s still subtracted much more than he’s added.
September 17, 2001 | Rating: 2/4
Joshua Katzman
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
There’s something appealing about the films sometimes clumsy energy, where a stylistic flourish doesn’t require an advanced intellectual metaphor because there’s feeling behind it.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Very much like its antihero, this is a movie that occasionally gets caught between two worlds. But it does so with such swagger that it’s hard to begrudge its wicked ways.
September 17, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Alistair Lawrence
Common Sense Media
[Jonathan] Glazer’s brilliant reimagining of the crime drama is character and performance driven, with a capital C and P.
May 18, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
…a visceral, mostly captivating thriller that features one of modern cinema’s very best villains.
May 17, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
A stylish, innovative and utterly compelling British crime drama which has stood the test of time very well indeed.
April 16, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
An extended short film par excellence, and we’re permitted to luxuriate in Glazer’s skills.
December 16, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro…
Plot
Gal, Deedee, Aitch and Jackie, having left behind respective lives of ill-repute, bask in the sun of Spain and in the most essential brand of leisure. A hazy yarn of barbecues, beer and botched hunting expeditions make up their retirements, until a sudden and unforeseen disruption emerges from their past. Enter the childishly violent and hilariously edgy Don Logan. Through a series of side-splitting negotiations and irrevocable acts, retired crook Gal is forced to shake off the rust and accept one last mission, put forth by the menacing Logan, his ex-mentor. A heist of legendary proportion and personal implications, this job should make for one hell of an encore.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ben Kingsley’s performance as sociopath Don Logan received critical acclaim and earned him numerous awards and nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
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