Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Sexy Beast
Sexy Beast Image
See the trailer
Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 65 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Starring: Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone
  • Summary: The story of one man's dangerous journey from peace of mind to paranoid panic when he's lured out of an idyllic retirement back to the gangster life. (Fox Searchlight)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 30
  3. Negative: 1 out of 30
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    100
    A vicious horror flick with an actual beast and someone who just acts like one.
  2. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    40
    Drove violence to the point of redundancy.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    10
    In the end, I'm wondering what's so special about a film that has but one guilty pleasure and that's Ben Kingsley spraying saliva-lubricated variants of the F-word into the atmosphere like anti-aircraft fire for 10 solid minutes.

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 39
  3. Negative: 7 out of 39
  1. jdicksteihn
    10
    The closest thing to a perfect movie that I've found. There's too many great things about it to list here. Here's one interesting nuance. If you want to know the key to the power of Ben Kingsley's performance, it is not actually Ben Kingsley (though he is wonderful). Watch the movie up until Kingsley's arrival and then turn it off. Tell me then what you would think of Don Logan had he never made an appearance in the movie. Watch everyone's reaction at the table when Jackie says "It was Don Logan" who called for Gal. This director created an unbelievable monster of a character in Don Logan before he entered frame. It is in this way that Jonathan Glazer is largely responsible for the character of Don Logan. And why Ben Kingsley was able to spend most of his performance not raising his voice and seem utterly terrifying. Brilliant example of a director defining a character by the other character's reactions to him. Only one of the trillion great things about this film.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. MichaelB
    10
    Ben Kingsley as Logan and Ray Winstone as Gal are actors at the peak of their careers in this film. The menace just oozes. Never has gangsterism been so scarily real.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. ryancarroll88
    3
    Ben Kingsley appears to use his role as the psychotic gangster Don Logan purely as an exercise in variety in this crime drama that ends up playing out more like a senseless stage production than a movie. Some suave surrealism and a biting humor keep the film interesting, but not enough to save it.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 39 User Reviews

Trailers

Related Articles

  1. Movies, Music

    Ranked: Music Video Directors Turned Film Directors

    Ranked: Music Video Directors Turned Film Directors Image
    Published: August 31, 2010
    Before Anton Corbijn was directing feature films like this week's "The American," he was the driving force behind iconic music videos for Depeche Mode, U2, and Nirvana. Inside, we look at the careers of Corbijn and over 20 other directors who have made the jump from MTV to the big screen.
    More »