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Layer Cake

Layer Cake

Drama · Thriller · Crime · 2004

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

Movie details

Layer Cake

“The art of good business is being a good middleman.”

2004 Drama · Thriller · Crime 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Layer Cake?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Lord of War

Lord of War

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Yuri Orlov is a globetrotting arms dealer and, through some of the deadliest war zones, he struggles to stay one step ahead of a relentless Interpol agent, his business rivals and even some of his customers who include many of the world's most notorious dictators. Finally, he must also face his own conscience.

Veronica Guerin

Veronica Guerin

Drama · 2003

In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the bottom with addicts, Guerin then gets in touch with John Traynor, a paranoid informant. Not without some prodding, Traynor leads her to John Gilligan, the ruthless head of the operation, who does not take kindly to Guerin's nosing.

Point Blank

Point Blank

Crime · 1967

After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.

Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown

Crime · 1997

Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.

Another Day in Paradise

Another Day in Paradise

Thriller · 1998

In the hope of a big score, two junkie couples team up to commit various drug robberies which go disastrously wrong, leading to dissent, violence, and murder.

GoodFellas

GoodFellas

Drama · 1990

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Trainspotting

Trainspotting

Drama · 1996

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

A Walk Among the Tombstones

A Walk Among the Tombstones

Crime · 2014

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Matthew Vaughn

Written by

J.J. Connolly

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig

XXXX

Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller

Tammy

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy

Clarkie

Colm Meaney

Colm Meaney

Gene

George Harris

George Harris

Morty

Sally Hawkins

Sally Hawkins

Slasher

Kenneth Cranham

Kenneth Cranham

Jimmy Price

Court is in session

Put Layer Cake on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.