Layer Cake

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Layer Cake
Original title Layer Cake
Layer Cake (2004) Logo.png
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 2004
length 106 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Matthew Vaughn
script JJ Connolly
production Matthew Vaughn,
Adam Bohling,
David Reid
music Lisa Gerrard ,
Ilan Eshkeri
camera Ben Davis
cut Jon Harris
occupation

Layer Cake (alternative spelling L4YER CAKƐ ) is a British gangster thriller from 2004. It is based on the novel of the same name by JJ Connolly . In Layer Cake , Daniel Craig plays a leading role for the first time .

The title (in German: layer cake ) refers to the social class of the criminal British underworld as well as to the interwoven storylines in the film.

action

The protagonist is an unspecified drug dealer who specializes in the cocaine trade . The credits only list it as "XXXX". However, this does not see himself as a gangster, but as a businessman. He is assisted by Clarkie, an industrial chemist who is responsible for quality control and stretching the goods. Morty and Terry, on the other hand, are the experienced liaisons to the underworld. The boss of all these men is Jimmy Price, who runs his business through Gene whom he blindly trusts. One day after a successful deal, Jimmy invites his drug dealer XXXX and his right-hand man Morty to dinner.

Jimmy is waiting for her in a posh country club and entrusts him with two unusual assignments. For one, Charlotte, the drug-addicted daughter of Jimmy's old friend Eddie Temple, has disappeared. Eddie is reportedly worried about her and has asked Jimmy for help. XXXX should now find her again. On the other hand, "the Duke" is offering a million ecstasy pills for sale, which he and his gang in Amsterdam stole from Serbian criminals from a production facility hidden in a greenhouse, and XXXX is supposed to arrange the purchase of the drugs.

Although the men wonder why Jimmy wants to do business with a braggart like the Duke, they cannot refuse his assignment. When meeting the Duke, XXXX tries to push the high price of the pills down. Since the Duke does not consent, there is no deal, and XXXX leaves the meeting point with a few pills that he wants to have examined for quality control. He also visits the two gangsters Cody and Tiptoes in their club and instructs them to look for Charlotte. In the club he also meets Sidney, the duke's nephew, who is in the company of his girlfriend Tammy. Tammy gives XXXX her cell phone number; later the two of them meet in a hotel room for an agreed-upon sex, which however does not take place.

XXXX meets with Trevor and Shanks, two "traders" from northern England. From them he learns that the Duke attacked the Serbs and that they then entrusted Dragan, their best killer, with the revenge. This is now after XXXX, too, because the Duke has been telling around in Amsterdam who he will sell the pills to.

Angry, XXXX drives back with his men to the shipyard where he recently visited the Duke. However, this one has already disappeared with his gang. You only find the owner of the shipyard, who was tortured to death by Dragan with a red-hot iron. Jimmy doesn't care about the whole thing and he urges XXXX to finally do his "damn job".

Cody and Tiptoes have since found Kinky, Charlotte's friend, dead in his apartment. Charlotte, however, has disappeared. Roommates believe that Kinky was murdered and that the drug overdose was not self-administering. XXXX orders the search to be expanded to find Charlotte.

Morty and XXXX are discussing the situation in a café when Freddy, an old friend of Morty, shows up. Because Morty had to go to prison for ten years because of his stupidity, he beats him to hospital. Morty then goes into hiding.

XXXX asks Gene for advice. On the one hand because of Dragan, on the other hand because of Morty, as XXXX could possibly be convicted of aiding and abetting. Gene advises him to buy a gun and gives him one from his collection. The next morning, Dragan answers XXXX on the phone for the first time. Dragan demands the return of the goods stolen from his boss and the delivery of the Duke. XXXX takes the opportunity to find out what Dragan already knows about him. He ends the conversation when he realizes that Dragan doesn't know where he lives.

Gazza, Duke's partner, calls Gene. He wants to finish the deal within 48 hours, otherwise he will make the hot goods disappear.

XXXX meets with Tammy in a posh hotel. On the one hand for a shepherd's hour, but also to find out about Sidney's and Gazza's whereabouts. Before there can be any physical closeness, however, XXXX is captured by Eddie Temple's men and brought to him. From him he learns that he did not ask Jimmy for help at all, but wanted Jimmy Charlotte as a hostage. The reason: Jimmy fell for an African economics minister and lost a large part of his private wealth with £ 13 million. He wanted to force Eddie to help him because he blamed him for his situation. Furthermore, Jimmy also wants XXXX to be scapegoated in several ways and to appropriate his fortune, since XXXX wants to get out of the drug business, which would not only lose one of his best drug dealers, but also a considerable portion of his income.

Eddie has a recording of the conversation in which it can be heard that Jimmy plans to hand him over to the police and put him on the drug business. Eddie doesn't want to take XXXX off, he wants to use it against Jimmy. XXXX then shoots Jimmy in his garden that night.

Dragan is now more intrusive and wants to meet with XXXX. However, he plans to shoot Dragan with the help of Mr. Lucky, Trevor's sniper , in a public park at lunchtime the next day. Trevor is interested in the pills now, as is Eddie. XXXX agrees to sell to Eddie for £ 3 million.

When XXXX wants to meet with Gene, he beats him up for the murder of Jimmy. But he can convince Morty and Gene of Jimmy's betrayal by recording the sound. Now they also realize that Jimmy wanted to do business with the Duke because he is broke due to the bad investment in Africa.

The sniper Mr. Lucky goes to the rendezvous with XXXX to take out Dragan. But this one is faster, eliminated with one shot Lucky and at the same time allows XXXX on the phone another day - who in turn wonders how it should go on, since the Duke has still disappeared. Gene then shows them his freezer. Inside is the dead duke. Gene's bodyguard had killed him because the duke's girlfriend threatened to betray her business partners to the police if the deal wasn't closed in a timely manner.

XXXX meets with Gazza to do business. When the police show up, the group escapes and a police task force confiscates the drugs. XXXX can only offer Dragan the Duke's head. Dragan has watched the whole thing and is more or less satisfied. However, the pills were not confiscated by the police, but rather by Cody and Tiptoes, who had dressed up as police officers with their people. You now deliver the pills and are paid out by XXXX. The pills will now be brought to Eddie. But he does not think of paying, but wants to keep the pills as compensation for the attempt to kidnap his daughter. Instead, he gives him a lifetime membership in the Stokes Club. Eddie explains to XXXX that he has great potential and that he will eventually take his place. Seemingly bitter, XXXX leaves unharmed with his people. However, because he had foreseen the train, he had previously sold the pills to Trevor and Shanks, who then ambush Eddie's men and take the pills.

Finally, XXXX is sitting with the remaining group in the country club. Clarkie makes a toast: "The King is dead, long live the King." XXXX refuses to take Jimmy's place. He is now realizing his plan to get out of the drug business for good. Accompanied by Tammy, he leaves the country club, but is shot in the chest on the steps by Tammy's ex-boyfriend Sidney and collapses on the stairs covered in blood. The scene is faded out and his future fate is uncertain at the end of the film.

background

  • The film never came into cinemas in Germany, but was immediately released on DVD.
  • The budget for the film was four million pounds sterling. The entire soundtrack was put together within four days.
  • Matthew Vaughn made his directorial debut on this film. He was previously a producer on Guy Ritchie's films Jack, Queen, King, grass and Snatch - pigs and diamonds .

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack includes fifteen tracks.

  1. Hayling - Kahuna FC
  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 & Michael Gambon
  14. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Joe Cocker
  15. Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones

Reviews

The lexicon of international films praised the film and wrote that it was “an action-packed, tough thriller in the best British tradition. Well played, photographed and staged, precisely developed down to the smallest detail. "

According to kino.de, Layer Cake is "a highly stylish and witty underworld thriller that broke box-office records in its home country and, not least, impresses with its sensational cast."

Awards

Matthew Vaughn won an Empire Award for Best Director. In total, the film received eight nominations for various awards.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Layer Cake . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , June 2005 (PDF; test number: 102 671 DVD).
  2. ↑ a b review on kino.de, accessed on December 27, 2014.
  3. ↑ Layer Cake. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used