Sep. 30, 2004|United Kingdom|105 Min.|R
Genre: Crime;Drama;Thriller
Description: The protagonist, known only as XXXX, is a meticulous London cocaine distributor who avoids violence and operates with the precision of a legitimate businessperson. He works closely with Morty, his enforcer and partner, and Gene, an Irish gangster who connects him to crime boss Jimmy Price. Just as XXXX plans to retire from the criminal world, Jimmy assigns him two critical missions.
First, XXXX must locate Charlie, the missing drug-addicted daughter of one of Jimmy’s associates. XXXX hires two con artists, Cody and Tiptoes, to find her. They discover Charlie has been kidnapped but fail to identify her captors.
Second, XXXX is tasked with facilitating the purchase of one million ecstasy tablets from the Duke, a petty criminal recently returned from Amsterdam with his girlfriend Slasher and his crew, led by Gazza. Unbeknownst to XXXX, the Duke stole the pills from a group of Serbian war criminals. XXXX encounters the Duke’s inept nephew, Sidney, and develops an attraction to Sidney’s girlfriend, Tammy.
Attempting to sell the pills to Liverpool gangsters Trevor and Shanks, XXXX learns of the tablets’ origin and that the Serbians have sent an assassin, Dragan, to retrieve the pills and eliminate the thieves. Since the Duke revealed XXXX’s involvement, he too becomes a target.
XXXX arranges a secret meeting with Tammy but is abducted by Eddie Temple, a wealthy crime lord. Eddie reveals that Charlie is his daughter, whom he has successfully retrieved. Jimmy, who blames Eddie for his financial losses, had planned to hold Charlie hostage until Eddie compensated him. Eddie provides XXXX with a recording exposing Jimmy’s betrayal: Jimmy has been informing for Scotland Yard, intending to frame XXXX once the pills were sold in exchange for immunity and XXXX’s assets. Eddie then demands that XXXX sell the pills to him instead.
Cast director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast actor: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Tom Hardy, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Sally Hawkins, Kenneth Cranham, Jamie Foreman, Michael Gambon, Ben Whishaw
Original name: Layer Cake