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Layer Cake
Directed by	Matthew Vaughn
Produced by	Adam Bohling Stephen Marks David Reid Matthew Vaughn
Written by	Novel & Screenplay: J. J. Connolly
Starring	Daniel Craig Colm Meaney Kenneth Cranham George Harris Jamie Foreman Sienna Miller and Michael Gambon
Music by	Lisa Gerrard Ilan Eshkeri
Cinematography	Ben Davis
Editing by	Jon Harris
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release date(s)	2004
Running time	105 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	4,000,000 GBP
Gross revenue	$11,850,214[1]

Layer Cake is a 2004 British gangster thriller, directed by Matthew Vaughn. It is based on the novel Layer Cake by J. J. Connolly. Since star Daniel Craig's rise to fame in Casino Royale, the film has started to amass a cult following.

The title refers to the human social strata, especially in the British crime underworld, as well as the numerous plot layers in the film.

Plot

The film centers on a cocaine distributor played by Daniel Craig. The character, who also narrates the film, is deliberately unnamed throughout, but is listed in the credits as "XXXX". XXXX has established a successful business in London buying, cutting and selling cocaine while avoiding the largesse and gangster behaviour associated with drug dealing. Having made his fortune, he secretly plans to retire from the business for good.

Daniel Craig as XXXX

XXXX's boss, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) sends him to track down Charlie, the teenage daughter of Price's associate, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon), who has fled a rehabilitation centre with her drug-addicted boyfriend. In reality, XXXX is being sent to kidnap Charlie to help Jimmy blackmail Temple over a bad investment.

At the same time, Price instructs XXXX to organise the purchase and distribution of one million ecstasy tablets from a gangster named The Duke (Jamie Foreman). Unbeknownst to XXXX, the pills have been stolen from a gang of Serbian war criminals. Jimmy has found out about XXXX's plans to retire, and believes that either the Serbian gang or Eddie Temple's mercenaries will kill XXXX, allowing him to recover some of his losses.

XXXX's world gradually unravels as he discovers Jimmy Price is informing for the police; XXXX's associate, Morty (George Harris) goes into hiding after brutally beating and pouring hot tea on a former associate in a cafe; the Duke and his gang mysteriously disappear; and the ruthless Eddie Temple involves himself in the already bungled ecstasy deal.

XXXX devises an elaborate scam to play his various adversaries off against one another, and ends up in the clear having sold the drugs, and most of his enemies dead. He sticks to his original plan to retire, but as he leaves a celebratory lunch with his associates, he is shot on the front steps of the country house restaurant by The Duke's nephew, Sidney (Ben Whishaw), in revenge, presumably, for stealing his girlfriend, Tammy (Sienna Miller). The film ends with XXXX left lying bleeding on the steps, his fate unknown.

Cast

Soundtrack

The Soundtrack from Layer Cake (sometimes stylised as L4YER CAKƐ, such as on the album cover) is composed of 14 tracks.

1. Hayling - FC Kahuna
2. Opening - Ilan Eshkeri & Steve McLaughlin
3. She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
4. Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue [Original Radio Edit]
5. You Got The Love - The Source Feat. Candi Staton [Original bootleg radio mix]
6. Drive To The Boatyard - Ilan Eshkeri
7. Junky Fight - Lisa Gerrard
8. Making Plans For Nigel - XTC
9. Ordinary World - Duran Duran
10. Ruthless Gravity - Craig Armstrong
11. Four To The Floor - Starsailor [Soulsavers Mix]
12. Drive To The Warehouse - Ilan Eshkeri & Lisa Gerrard
13. Aria (Layer Cake Speech) - Lisa Gerrard With Michael Gambon
14. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Joe Cocker

Reception

Layer Cake received positive reviews, with an 81% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[2] The film has an average score of 73% based on 30 reviews on Metacritic.^[3]

References

External links

• Official Site
• Layer Cake at the Internet Movie Database
• Layer Cake at Box Office Mojo
• BBC interview with Matthew Vaughn