Layer Cake

This week I had the pleasure of viewing Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn's directorial debut starring Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller and a host of other talented Brits. Prior to this film, Matthew Vaughn was known for producing British indie hits, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Layer Cake, adapted from JJ Connolly's novel, was originally going to be directed by Guy Ritchie but Vaughn eventually took over the project himself. What a relief. I think Guy Ritchie is a great director but judging from his work post Lock, Stock and Snatch, I'd be a little concerned with Ritche's handling of Connolly's slick and terrifically smart screenplay. Vaughn has turned the gangster film on its head by giving us a portrait of a young, cocaine dealer intent not on being some head honcho mafia boss known by everyone in the crime underworld but rather a transparent middleman who does his job without being noticed. This man, played by Daniel Craig who breathes incredible intelligence and humor into the role, wishes to end his days as a drug-slinging go-between but unfortunately he is attempting to retire from a profession that doesn't want to retire him. The man, who remains anonymous in both the novel and the film, is like many criminals hoping to call it quits. He agrees to one final job that will set him up for life but instead finds himself dealing with imbeciles, wannabes, creeps, and lunatics who simply will not let him bow out quietly.

There is a small yet significant sub-plot that occurs between Craig's character and Tammy, played by Sienna Miller. Miller's performance in this film is brief but effective as it provides our protaginist with his only avenue of escape. He makes several attempts to connect with her but those attempts are continuously thwarted by occupational hazards. Unfortunately his association with Tammy is not without its own price as Tammy too is involved with people who are rooting against the nameless man's hopes for a quiet departure.

What I love about this film is that it's got all the cool glamour and charisma of a great gangster flick but it differs from its predecessors by showing us how a simple life and a drug dealer's life can never be one in the same no matter how idealistic the drug dealer is. Layer Cake doesn't try to be too clever or too slick which is what makes it so clever and slick. Like Ritchie's films, there is a trendy soundtrack that accompanies all the film's most provocative moments but with Vaughn, I never feel as though I'm watching a music video. The screenplay is rich and highly detailed yet it comes across as literary rather than superfluous which I attribute to JJ Connolly's skills as both a novelist and a screenwriter. Daniel Craig's performance is convincing and sympathetic which makes his character a lot more accessible than your typical anti-hero. Watching him I was reminded of Ray Liotta's Henry Hill in GoodFellas. Hill too finds himself drawn to the mob, seduced and taken over by its rich lifestyle and unique code of behavior until finally collapsing under the weight of its expectations and demands. The lesson in both GoodFellas and Layer Cake is that while crime does pay, and very well at that, it can also make you an employee for life where the only way out of your contract is a bullet through the chest.