Susan Granger’s review of “Layer Cake” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Because of this clever British gangster/morality tale, Matthew Vaughn has leapt from rookie director to the Hollywood A-list, nabbing the upcoming “X-Men” sequel, promising to give it more heart, and rangy actor Daniel Craig is rumored to be a contender for the new James Bond.Adapted by J.J. Connolly from his pulp novel, there’s this nameless drug dealer (Daniel Craig) who introduces himself saying, “I’m not a gangster. I’m a businessman whose commodity happens to be cocaine.” He has made his fortune and wants to cash out. Before he can retire, he has to do two favors for a villainous crime boss (Kenneth Cranham). First, he must track down the missing daughter of a powerful criminal (Michael Gambon). Second, he must negotiate the sale of a huge Ecstasy shipment with the Duke (Jamie Foreman). Tracked by two thugs (Colm Meaney, George Harris), he still has time for a dalliance with a disco blonde (Sienna Miller) as he discovers convoluted layers upon layers of deceit and deception. It’s gangland minus frosting.Director Matthew Vaughn is hardly a neophyte, thanks to his godfather/mentor, restaurateur Peter Morton, who helped him get jobs at the Hard Rock Cafe and with music video producer Simon Fields – and from his three-year marriage to German supermodel Claudia Schiffer with whom he has two children. Vaughn was a creative producer on “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and “Swept Away” – and was long rumored to be the illegitimate son of “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” star Robert Vaughn until recent DNA tests proved he was not. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Layer Cake” is a tasty, tightly-paced 8, as smooth London lowlife discovers it’s not quite as easy getting out of trouble as it is getting in.
