Layer Cake

Review by Giovanni Varazzani

Layer cake is a classic gangster movie with a bit of that British comedy that sometimes it is difficult to understand if the viewers are not English.
The director Matthew Vaughn made his first approach to direction with this movie but with more experience as producer for several films including “Snatch” and “Stardust” in witch he was the writer as well.
The story is about a bunch of friends involved in the drug business and when they have a big amount of ecstasy tablet to sell, they found themselves between two factions both interested to buy the drug with all the dirty tricks available.
The main character interpreted by Daniel Craig (the last Bond on the big screen) says that he is not a drug dealer but a businessman. And he is a successful in that by abiding to a strict set of rules.
The main story has along the film few little parallel stories that, from my point of view make the film more real because in real life there is more than one story that goes on in everybody but, it can distract the audience. It is probably this communion between real and unreal that makes the film a good film.
One of the scenes, that I think is amazing, is when Craig (the character is anonymous in the film) kills one of the big gangsters and he goes back to his home. He is definitely shocked by the killing and he starts taking ecstasy tablets and spirits with the result of him smashed, until he close a bathroom cabinet with a mirror where he his reflected but in perfect condition, dressed with a suit and tie ready for the next business.