One of the most acclaimed gangster films the UK has ever produced is set to air on TV tonight, featuring some of the best cast and crew of British cinema ever to come together for a crime classic.
The 2000 film marked the directorial debut of Jonathan Glazer (way before he went on to produce Under the Skin and The Zone of Interest) and features Ray Winstone as Gary “Gal” Dove, a retired criminal living a quiet life on the Costa del Sol with his wife, DeeDee.
But that peace doesn’t last long – it’s broken as soon as Don Logan, played by Ben Kingsley, comes into the picture. He demands that Gal take part in one final bank job back in London, orchestrated by crime boss Teddy Bass, played by Ian McShane.
From then on, Sexy Beast develops into a sequence of tense standoffs, mainly between Gal’s desire to stay retired and Don’s escalating insistence that he can’t refuse.
Tensions escalate when Gal suggests Don’s real motive for visiting is his infatuation with his friend’s wife, Jackie – which leads to the film’s most impactful events.
The film stars Ben Kingsley and Ray Winstone (Image: Film4)
The film has an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes (Image: Nick Wall/Channel 4/Kanzaman/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Rated 87% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has aged well critically. The site’s consensus is that the film “rises above other movies in the British gangster genre due to its performances.”
Most of the online praise, though, goes to Kingsley’s turn as Don Logan, singled out as one of the most unforgettable villain performances in British cinema.
“Remember the Gandhi of Ben Kingsley? Wait until you see him here as Don Logan, a psychotic gangster, the British equivalent of Pesci in Goodfellas. Kingsley’s work is more bizarrely eccentric. And more accomplished,” one reviewer wrote.
Another called the film “An absolute classic. Tightly written and well directed, Kingsley and McShane in particular, are outstanding.”
The film spawned a TV show prequel on Paramount (Image: Paramount)
A third added: “Kingsley is terrifying in this movie, an absolutely stunning performance.”
Another reviewer went even further, ranking it among the very best films of its era. They described it as “a crime drama that is beautifully shot and exceptionally well written. Led by Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of Don Logan, one of the scariest characters ever seen on the big screen. A movie that is even in its quiet moments is filled with fear.”
For his portrayal of Don, Kingsley earned Best Supporting Actor wins from a string of critics’ associations, including the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Toronto Film Critics Association, and got nominated for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award.
The film won Best Director and Best Screenplay awards at the British Independent Film Awards.
Sexy Beast is, to this day, known as one of the best British films ever made, and even gained a prequel television series that premiered in 2024, focused on Don Logan’s backstory.
Sexy Beast will be on Film 4 tonight, at 10.50pm.
