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Two mid-level hoods idly chat in a diner while Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” softly plays in the background. A previously unseen and unmentioned character named Freddie walks in, recognizes one of them and sits down for a nice reunion. Soon, the song is amped to full volume and Freddie’s face is plum against the ground as he gets the snot kicked out of him. The scene is beautifully done – well-paced, edited and aesthetically quite sublime. The problem is we have no idea who Freddie is or why any of it is happening.
This, in a nutshell, is the major shortcoming in “Layer Cake:” Lost amid the stylish grittiness of the savage and ruthless English underworld is a lucid story that binds the film together. Perhaps this chaotic energy was the intention of producer/director Matthew Vaughn, who recently has been tapped to direct the next “X-men” movie. But creating an aura of unpredictability cannot and should not interfere with narrative coherence. It’s fun to watch, but it’s all over the place.
Admittedly, the aforementioned scene is explained a moment later, and the use of the song does ably symbolize the unnamed main character’s (who was one of the hoods at the diner) plight. He’s a “businessman” (as he calls himself) who specializes in the selling and distribution of narcotics. He’s also in his thirties, and on the brink of retirement pending the successful completion of a multi-million dollar ecstasy deal.
Things, of course, do not go as planned. After it is learned that the ecstasy was stolen from a powerful foreign mafia that will soon be after him, he’s also asked to find the daughter of one of his boss’ associates. Trouble. Then he gets involved with Tammy (Sienna Miller, a.k.a. Jude Law’s girlfriend), who is inextricably linked to the Duke (Jamie Foreman), the man who originally stole the ecstasy. More trouble.
As layer upon layer of complication is added to his ordeal, the plot becomes more discombobulated than it is compelling. Whereas in a normal film the context is fully explained in the exposition, here the omnipresent past is a salient factor in what’s happening now. When combined with all the new problems that keep popping up, the 105 minute running time is woefully short.
This would be more bothersome if the film weren’t so delectably made. It’s interesting the way it unveils the inner workings of the mafia world, and will remind some of the way Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) guided us through “Goodfellas.” Vaughn’s visual approach is fresh and original: bottles of cocaine morph into Listerine containers as our main character describes how drugs have completely changed the mafia, and Vaughn’s camera angles — be them above, below or panning/tracking the action — often provide an eclectic and intriguing perspective.
There is a formidable cast within the twisting and bending story. Daniel Craig provides an engaging central character — the kind we can relate to while instinctively disagreeing with his lifestyle and choices. Michael Gambon (the new Dumbledore in the “Harry Potter” movies) is inexplicably tan and solid as an enemy of Jimmy (Kenneth Cranham), the main character’s boss. Colm Meaney is Gene, Jimmy’s hard-nosed assistant who carries a mutually calm and panicked expression on his face, the likes of which could only come from a life of having to look cool and collected as the worst of the worst occurs before your eyes. And then there’s the sultry Sienna Miller, whose acting talent is still well behind her pulchritude but shows signs of promise.
Like Miller, the movie also shows signs of promise that aren’t fully realized, yet brings a swagger and method that make it undeniably worth watching. Sometimes style triumphing over substance isn’t such a bad thing.
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