The rabbit is the Sexy Beast. But who the sexy beast personifies keeps shifting until we understand at the end that it’s not Gal, as we thought in the beginning, or Don, but Teddy.

Its not clear that Teddy is actually being buggered by the banker - I took this to be a fantasy. But, Teddy does tell all the men, after the job, “you’re all cunts” to suggest his power over them. Dominant rabbits in nature tend to have more than one sex partner.

With Don buried at the end of the film, we see the rabbit again standing over him, suggesting that this creature is, in fact, the Devil. Its not too different from Tarantino’s angle in Pulp Fiction where he set up the ordinary-looking blokes as agents of the devil, who had to be destroyed. Except Tarantino counted on supernatural intervention, whereas Gal counts on the mettle of his friends.

Great performances all around.

I would have liked to have watched this film without my wife being present. She has the uncanny knack of making a film you are not quite sure about early on seem like the most utter rubbish.

However, even with this film, she picked up towards the end. It isn’t a perfect film. It isn’t a comfortable film. But if pressed, anyone who has sat through it will admit that it is an intense film.

So if you like intense, watch it. Ben Kingsley is a _constant_ surprise. I feel the pacing would probably loose people’s interest early on, even though for those willing to ’suck-it-and-see’ this section contains the best dialogue. Maybe we have been conditioned to be too action-hungry these days. A good interpretation of Shakespeare relies on plenty of action these days, even though the story is the overwhelming ‘knock-out’ factor.

Thanks for the review. I would never have picked the DVD otherwise, and feel enriched by the experience.

Leigh

This movie is about a group of people one either cares nothing about or dispises. I am not requiring “redeeming values” in a movie, but I was hard-pressed to see the point. Perhaps adding to my displeasure with the movie was the speech of one of the characters, which was so mumbled that if anyone could understand more than half a dozen of his words in the movie then I will award a gold star. I can only hope that the DVD version allows for English subtitles.

Of course, Ben Kingsley is, as always, great (he is probably the most underappreciated actor around). He brings a true depth to the character and is perfect in the role. Unfortunately, his presence cannot save the movie any more than the great Anthony Hopkins was able to save the movie Proof.

Like I said, however, I was glad to hear from someone who did like the movie with an explanation as to why they liked it, as the appeal was completely lost on me.

Keep up the excellent reviews.

Cheers -

george

Keep up the great work!

Michael Geoghegan from the Reel Reviews podcast has just put up a review of one of the best films I’ve seen this year: Sexy Beast. I haven’t listened to the review yet, but am really looking forward to it -…

Powerful and haunting. The fear brought about in the minds and faces of the characters is more frightful than what is shown on screen. An amazing film all the way around; from the characters, the lighting, the framework, the dialogue and score.

There were times that I felt like I this film was made in the 60’s. Something about the shots of the automobiles on the roads; the background colors and music. Seemed familiar…

I’m interested in the “purple” shots. Once was a dream sequence with Gal and the other (that I remember) was when Teddy was walking through the bank lobby door (in fact, this scene repeats later in the film).

Maybe Teddy was in his own “dream” because he pulled off the job and was in a psychotic state before heading to the executive’s home.

Great film and hmm…what about those “bunnies”?

Todd