LAYER CAKE

Year: 2004
USA: Sony Pictures Classics
UK: Columbia Tristar Films (UK)
Cast: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon, Marcel Iures, Tom Hardy, Tamer Hassan, Ben Whishaw, Burn Gorman, Sally Hawkins, Jason Flemyng, Brinley Green, Francis Magee, Dimitri Andreas, Garry Tubbs, Natalie Lunghi, Marvyn Benoit, Rab Affleck, Dexter Fletcher, Steve John Shepherd, Paul Orchard, Stephen Walters, Louis Emerick, Darren Healy, Matt Ryan, Ivan Kaye, Ben Brasier, Neil Finnighan, Budgie Prewitt, Don McCorkindale, Dragan Micanovic
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Country: UK
USA & UK: 105 mins
USA Rated: R for strong brutal violence, sexuality, nudity, pervasive language and drug use
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language, drug use, violence and sex
USA Release Date: 13 May 2005 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 1 October 2004


Synopsis

'You're born, you take shit. Get out in the world, take shit. You climb higher, you take less shit. Till one day you get up in the rarefied atmosphere, you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake...'

Sleek, well dressed and polite our hero (Daniel Craig) looks like any other businessman. Treating cocaine and ecstasy like any other commodities, he has made a fortune for himself without ever really getting his hands dirty or losing his anonymity. Now, he's looking at retiring while he's still young enough to enjoy his ill-gotten gains.

He reckons a couple of days should see him clear of the business. That's the plan, anyway. But like all the best laid plans it goes somewhat astray...

Crime boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) wants a couple of favours from him. The drug addict daughter of powerful criminal Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon) has gone missing and Price wants her tracked down. Sounds simple enough. So does Price's second favour: a wild-cannon crook named The Duke (Jamie Foreman) has gotten hold of a huge shipment of ecstasy. Price needs a middle man to sort out a deal to buy the drugs.

Two last jobs, thinks our hero, and then I'm free. But nothing's ever simple. With a renegade Serbian war lord thrown into the equation and a host of dangerous lowlifes out to help and hinder him, he soon realises that getting out of the drugs business just might cost him everything. Including his life.

LAYER CAKE is the directorial debut of Matthew Vaughn, producer of the international hits LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH. Written by author J.J. Connolly (adapted from his novel of the same name), the film is produced by Vaughn alongside David Reid and Adam Bohling and the Executive Producer is Stephen Marks.