Layer Cake (2004)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Matthew Vaughn

Writers:

J.J. Connolly (screenplay)
J.J. Connolly (novel)

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement.

Plot Keywords:

One Last Job | Heist | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Country Club | Scam

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Daniel Craig	...	XXXX
Tom Hardy	...	Clarkie
Jamie Foreman	...	Duke
Sally Hawkins	...	Slasher
Burn Gorman	...	Gazza
Brinley Green	...	Nobby
George Harris	...	Morty
Tamer Hassan	...	Terry
Colm Meaney	...	Gene
Marcel Iures	...	Slavo
Francis Magee	...	Paul the Boatman
Dimitri Andreas	...	Angelo
Kenneth Cranham	...	Jimmy Price
Garry Tubbs	...	Brian
Nathalie Lunghi	...	Charlie
Marvin Benoit	...	Kinky (as Marvyn Benoit)
Rab Affleck	...	Mickey
Dexter Fletcher	...	Cody
Steve John Shepherd	...	Tiptoes
Ben Whishaw	...	Sidney
Sienna Miller	...	Tammy
Paul Orchard	...	Lucky
Stephen Walters	...	Shanks
Louis Emerick	...	Trevor
Darren Healy	...	Junkie 1
Matt Ryan	...	Junkie 2
Ivan Kaye	...	Freddie Hurst
Jason Flemyng	...	Larry - Crazy
Ben Brasier	...	Jerry - Klburn
Neil Finnighan	...	Troop
Michael Gambon	...	Eddie Temple
Budge Prewitt	...	Golf Host (as Budgie Prewitt)
Don McCorkindale	...	Albert Carter
Dragan Micanovic	...	Dragan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Dodd	...	Principal Dancer (uncredited)
Steve Hooper	...	Couple Having Sex (uncredited)
Kinky Kerry	...	Couple Having Sex (uncredited)
Peter Rnic	...	Serbian Gangster (uncredited)

Directed by
Matthew Vaughn

Writing credits
J.J. Connolly		(screenplay)
J.J. Connolly		(novel)

Produced by
Adam Bohling	....	producer
Stephen Marks	....	executive producer
David Reid	....	producer
Matthew Vaughn	....	producer

Original Music by
Ilan Eshkeri
Lisa Gerrard

Cinematography by
Ben Davis		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jon Harris

Casting by
Leo Davis
Jina Jay

Production Design by
Kave Quinn

Art Direction by
Steve Carter

Set Decoration by
Joanna Barrs		(as Jo Barrs)

Costume Design by
Stephanie Collie

Makeup Department
Fae Hammond	....	chief hair stylist
Fae Hammond	....	chief makeup artist
Maureen Hetherington	....	hair stylist
Maureen Hetherington	....	makeup artist
Pebbles	....	chief hair stylist
Pebbles	....	chief makeup artist
Karen Sherriff-Brown	....	hair stylist (as Karen Sherriff Brown)
Karen Sherriff-Brown	....	makeup artist (as Karen Sherriff Brown)
Dubi Preger	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jatinderpal Chohan	....	post-production supervisor
Luke Jackson	....	unit manager
Alain Lagger	....	production manager: Amsterdam
Clare Maclean	....	post-production supervisor
Emma Pike	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Elliott	....	first assistant director (as Mike Elliott)
Samar Pollitt	....	third assistant director
David Reid	....	second unit director
Anthony Wilcox	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Chloe Boleyn	....	graffiti artist
Mick Boleyn	....	construction manager (as Michael Boleyn)
Sophie Boleyn	....	graffiti artist
Will Cann	....	stand-by props (as William Cann)
Nick Cosens	....	stand-by props
Noel Cowell	....	property master
Hannah Evans	....	assistant set decorator
Jonathan Holbrook	....	scenic painter
Martin Kane	....	props
Coralie Lew	....	assistant art director
Dale Manning	....	art department production assistant
Justin Overhill	....	stand-by painter
Matthew Parsons	....	scenic painter (as Mathew Parsons)
Sandra Phillips	....	assistant art director
Adrian Platt	....	dressing props
Will Pope	....	carpenter foreman
Nina Ross	....	assistant art director
John Watt	....	stand-by carpenter
Damian Butlin	....	dressing props (uncredited)
Damian Butlin	....	props (uncredited)
Craig Cheeseman	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
Andrew Palmer	....	art department runner (uncredited)
Stuart Read	....	dressing props: dailies (uncredited)

Sound Department
Paula Boram	....	foley artist (as Paula Borum)
Chris Burdon	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matthew Collinge	....	foley editor
Matthew Collinge	....	sound designer
Matthew Collinge	....	sound effects editor
Arthur Fenn	....	boom operator (as Arthur Turner)
Peter Gleaves	....	adr recordist
Ben Greaves	....	cable person
Tom Harrison	....	cable man
Simon Hayes	....	sound mixer
Robin Johnson	....	cable man
Daryl Jordan	....	assistant sound editor
Danny Sheehan	....	adr editor
Danny Sheehan	....	dialogue editor
Danny Sheehan	....	foley editor
Jason Swanscott	....	foley artist
Sven Taits	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alexander Beddow	....	adr recordist (uncredited)
Gareth Bull	....	foley recordist (uncredited)
Matthew Collinge	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)
Hayden Collow	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Danny Sheehan	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)
Ian Tapp	....	foley recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Matthew G. Armstrong	....	special effects assistant: dailies (uncredited)
Laurence Harvey	....	armourer (uncredited)
Nick P. Phillips	....	senior special effects technician (uncredited)
Edward Smith	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)
Rob Tucker	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Michelle Camp	....	visual effects editorial
Jonathan Dredge	....	scanning and recording
Robert Duncan	....	visual effects supervisor (as Rob Duncan)
Mike Morrison	....	data operator
Joanna Nodwell	....	visual effects producer
Asa Shoul	....	colourist
Annabel Wright	....	digital lab operator
Doron Zar	....	digital grading assistant
Andy Burrow	....	scanning manager (uncredited)
Edward Xi Chen	....	data operator (uncredited)
James Clarke	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Paul Doogan	....	scanning, digital cleanup (uncredited)
Andrew Francis	....	HD mastering (uncredited)
Joe Godfrey	....	scanning, recording & digital cleanup (uncredited)
Dianne Gordon	....	data operator: Framestore CFC (uncredited)
Alistair Hamer	....	film mastering engineer (uncredited)
Jan Hogevold	....	production executive: Framestore CFC (uncredited)
Jack James	....	compositor (uncredited)
Kevin Lowery	....	scanning, recording & digital cleanup (uncredited)
Dan McRae	....	digital lab (uncredited)
Steve Parsons	....	visual effects: titles (uncredited)
Sirio Quintavalle	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Dave Robinson	....	systems engineer (uncredited)
Jeremy Sawyer	....	data operator (uncredited)
Matina Skouteri	....	digital lab operator (uncredited)
Maria Stroka	....	film recording producer (uncredited)
Paola Varvaro	....	digital cleanup artist (uncredited)
Stephen Willey	....	systems engineer (uncredited)
Aubrey Woodiwiss	....	digital cleanup (uncredited)

Stunts
Tom Aitken	....	stunts
Gary Connery	....	stunts
Bradley Farmer	....	stunts
Dean Forster	....	stunts
Andy Godbold	....	stunts
Paul Herbert	....	stunt coordinator
Rowley Irlam	....	stunts
James O'Donnell	....	stunts (as James O'Dee)
Seon Rogers	....	stunts (as Séon Rogers)
Nick Wilkinson	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
David Allain	....	video assistant
David Brown	....	chief lighting technician
Jeff Burden	....	electrician
Martin Duncan	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Kevin Fraser	....	grip equipment
Kevin Fraser	....	key grip
Shay Gallagher	....	stand-by rigger
Robert Gavigan	....	electrician
Phil Humphries	....	clapper loader
Lee Kemble	....	assistant grip
John Marzano	....	aerial camera operator
Guy Minoli	....	electrician
Steve Parker	....	director of photography: second unit
Clive Prior	....	focus puller
Alex Reid	....	focus puller: second unit
Mark Silk	....	underwater camera operator
Daniel Smith	....	still photographer
Greg Thomas	....	electrician
Simon Werry	....	aerial camera operator
Peter Wignall	....	camera operator
Matthew Dudding	....	focus puller: "b" camera (uncredited)
Leigh Gold	....	focus puller: dailies (uncredited)
Camille Griffin	....	clapper loader: second unit (uncredited)
Karl Hui	....	clapper loader: "b" camera (uncredited)
J. Glyn Williams	....	first assistant camera: aerial unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Vanessa Baker	....	voice casting
Brendan Donnison	....	voice casting
Melissa Holm	....	casting assistant
Dixie Chassay	....	casting assistant (uncredited)
Julie Dunne	....	additional casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mike Hodge	....	wardrobe master
Fiona Lucas	....	costume supervisor
Anna Palmgren	....	assistant costume designer
Gabrielle Spanswick	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Hattie Dalton	....	assistant editor
Claire McGrane	....	digital intermediate producer
Jason Wheeler	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Tom Chichester-Clark	....	music editor
Vic Fraser	....	music preparation
Liz Gallacher	....	music supervisor
Julian Kershaw	....	orchestrator
Richard Lancaster	....	music recordist
Stephen McLaughlin	....	music producer (as Gohl/McLaughlin)
Andrew Raiher	....	music programmer
Alex Scannell	....	music recordist
Jeff Toyne	....	orchestrator
Andy Brown	....	music contractor (uncredited)
Andrew Raiher	....	musician: guitars (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Simon Barker	....	transportation captain
Ben Dillon	....	picture car coordinator

Other crew
Luke Boyle	....	assistant production coordinator
Chris Brouwer	....	production coordinator: Amsterdam
Stacy Crago	....	production assistant
Claudia Creebsburg	....	production secretary: Amsterdam
Eran Creevy	....	production assistant
Tina Falcone	....	assistant accountant
Kevin Freemantle	....	production accountant
Daniel Gill	....	production assistant (as Dan Gill)
Rob Grundy	....	armorer
Mary Haddow	....	script supervisor
Stewart Hamilton	....	floor runner
Russell Hasenberg	....	production runner
Carrie Johnson	....	unit nurse
Diane Kelly	....	unit publicist
Piet-Hein Luykx	....	office manager: Amsterdam
Tarquin Pack	....	production assistant
Carlos Peres	....	production assistant
Thomas Rohde	....	production assistant: Amsterdam
Sanne Rosinga	....	production assistant: Amsterdam
Suzie Shearer	....	production coordinator
Rubin Snitslaar	....	location scout: Amsterdam
Eddie Standish	....	location manager
Anastasia Timeneys	....	production secretary (as Ana Timenys)
Alex Warder	....	assistant production coordinator
Nick Williams	....	floor manager
Marc Wolff	....	aerial coordinator
Marc Wolff	....	pilot
John Charles	....	software engineer: Sony DAC (uncredited)
Roger Phillips	....	end titles (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Marv Films

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2004) (worldwide) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Barbar Film (2005) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2006) (Argentina) (all media)
• Falcon (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Filmhouse (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Films (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• RTL Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing) (RTL7)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Sony Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Special Effects (GB) (special effects)
• Framestore CFC (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Anvil Post Production  foley recording
• AFM Lighting  lighting
• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded at
• Arion Facilities  dailies telecine transfers
• De Lane Lea Sound Centre  sound re-recorded at (as De Lane Lea)
• Director's Film Company  production services: Amsterdam
• EMI Records  soundtrack released by
• Flying Pictures  aerial filming services provided by
• Frameline Productions Ltd.  end titles (as Frameline)
• Framestore CFC  digital film grading
• Framestore CFC  post-production
• Gearbox Sound and Vision  additional ProTools systems supplied by
• Global Music Service  music copyist
• Hammerhead Television Facilities  steadicam equipment
• Jason Wheeler Film Services  negative cutting
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by (as JDC)
• Pepper Post Production  preview conform and grade
• Phaze UK  sound supervision
• Sargent Disc  production services (as Sargent-Disc Ltd.)
• The North Pole  music mixed at
• Wood Hall Catering  catering

Also Known As:

L4yer Cake (USA) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence, sexuality, nudity, pervasive language and drug use.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Romanian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS (US prints) | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | USA:R (certificate #40603) | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:18PL (DVD) | Japan:R-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Czech Republic:15 | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Brazil:18

Filming Locations:

1 West India Quay, Isle of Dogs, London, England, UK

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Director Matthew Vaughn is a descendant of Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer. For several reasons, he is not eligible to be the Earl of Oxford and Mortimer (one of which being the fact that the line has been discontinued and replaced by the Earl of Oxford and Asquith). When charming American girls at a bar in the film, Dexter Fletcher's character Cody tells Tiptoes that he is pretending to be the Earl of Oxford.

Goofs:

Continuity: When XXXX wakes up in the morning before Dragan's first phone call to him, you can see he moves a pillow revealing the gun, in the next shot the gun is facing the opposite direction.

Quotes:

[first lines]
XXXX: When I was born, the world was a far simpler place. It was all just cops and robbers.

Movie Connections:

References Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Soundtrack:

Tits on the Radio

Ultra Cool Classic

Seven years ago, I sat in a movie theatre with little to no expectations for the viewing of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, a British crime/comedy/drama from producer Michael Vaughn. I had never heard of the director (the future Mr. Madonna, Guy Ritchie) and there wasn't a single cast member that I could say I had seen before.

A few years later, Vaughn was back producing another Guy Ritchie film that put American actors Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro and Dennis Farnia amongst all the chaos in the British underground in Snatch.

Despite the low fanfare (they have since become cult hits), both movies were refreshingly fun flicks that ended up on my top ten lists in their respective years of release.

Now, five years since Snatch made a splash on North American soil, producer Michael Vaughn is back, this time behind the lens, for the new crime thriller, Layer Cake.

Layer Cake follows a cocaine dealer without a name played by Daniel Craig who is working towards his retirement from the underground biz. He doesn't see himself as a bad man. In fact, his voice over reveals that he is not a gangster. He's a business man. However, if Carlito's Way taught us anything it is that escape from a lifetime in the seedy crime world is not easy to dissolve oneself of.

And things start to go amok immediately when crime boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) forcefully delegates the task of finding the lost daughter of an old powerful friend to our protagonist. Reluctantly, but without option, the job is accepted and this begins the wicked spiral deeper into the drug and criminal underworld than he had ever hoped to venture.

Soon, there will be a drug trade gone bad, an introduction to a character named Dragon who lops off the heads of his victims, friends who will both have a drink with you and kick the living life out of your body in the same afternoon and enough crosses, double crosses and screw-you's to keep you riveted to the screen.

Much like Lock, Stock and Snatch, there are enough characters in Layer Cake to keep your head spinning. Vaughn doesn't try and spell things out for the audience and throws the kitchen sink at our small brains leaving it up the viewer to try and keep pace. Probably requiring a repeat viewing (if for no other reason that to try and understand what is being said under the cover of some very strong English accents), Layer Cake veers from the traditional cookie cutter type drug/crime caper by delivering a complex mix of violence and drama that is anything but packaged with a bow on top.

By the time we are introduced to yet another group of players, headed brilliantly by the always-reliable Michael Gambon, you may need a second to collect your senses and figure out which end is up. It was like watching Memento except with more lively characters and a story that's actually worth your involvement.

I was surprised to learn that this was Michael Vaughn's directorial debut. As a novice he was able to weave a complex web of multiple stories like a seasoned veteran in what I can only suspect to be a more realistic depiction of hit men and drug lords than anything Bad Boys waved in our faces a few years back.

Lacking the dark humor of Lock, Stock and Snatch, Layer Cake is more like Goodfellas and to some extent Reservoir Dogs than its two closest relatives (an ass kicking scene to Duran Duran's Ordinary World was reminiscent of Dogs' Stuck in the Middle With You). It's a film composed with characters that are so unique and interesting, yet violent and criminal that you don't know who to root for. Case in point, Gene played by Star Trek veteran Colm Meany. As Jimmy Price's right hand man, Gene is a gangster that wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in your brain if so ordered, but portrayed as a human being who is just doing what he is told to survive in a world to which he is too accustomed. He is maybe the most charismatic bad guy since Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction.

Rumor in selected Trades is that Daniel Craig is the frontrunner for the Bond franchise if Pierce Brosnan decides to jump ship, and his performance in Layer Cake proves that he is up to the task. His steely blue eyes and Steve McQueen type looks can ensure that we haven't seen the last of him, and if we are lucky, in his next film his character will get a name.

Layer Cake is definitely not for all types. If you have problems following CSI, then this movie is not for you. But for those of you who do stick around through the reveals and character developments, I can assure you that the payoff is worth the investment. Layer Cake will be one of those films that in a few years, men will be talking about around the work water-cooler, using words like 'ultra-cool' and maybe even 'classic'.

www.gregsrants.com