Sexy Beast (2000) Dir. Jonathan Glazer

Ray Winstone and Sir Ben Kingsley star in this turn of the millennium Brit-flick which, next month, gets a sexy new Second Sight Special Edition home release.

Winstone plays Gary 'Gal' Dove, an ex-thief who has emigrated to Spain with his wife DeeDee (a great Amanda Redman) to begin anew and leave his previous dark life far behind and enjoy some sun in retirement.

However, his plans are upended when he is idyllic holiday home is invaded by gangster Don Logan (Kingsley) who angrily descends upon his new world to convince him to participate in one last score.

This “offer” is far from voluntary though, and his threatening demeanour and unhinged violence - both physically and verbally - adds pressure to Gal who weighs up his involvement versus the risks to his own safety.

From the start, both lead actors give brilliant turns in their gritty roles, Winstone shows some little-often-seen vulnerability against the diminutive but psychotic Kingsley. While Kingsley's lyrical turns of phrase are equally impressive and funny but incredibly menacing.

The film is all the better given this acting role-reversal. Wide-boy Winstone plays against type as the more sympathetic gorgeous Gal, whilst Shakespearean thesp Kingsley gives a scary show as the crazy cockney gangster. In a parallel universe there’s a way worse version of this with each playing the other part.

As the two spar, the drama intensifies between these middle-aged crims, before Glazer punctuates the cockney geezer gangster drama with flashes of arthouse fantasy. A metaphorical boulder, a were-rabbit like creature and a floating romantic kiss in the sky add visual flair to what could have been a Guy Ritchie-style gangster knockabout.

Kingsley is all menace - c*nting and effing and jeffing throughout - and comes pissing all over Winstone's retirement plans - one time literally. He could be the brother of Ralph Fiennes’ similar gangster from In Bruges (2008) or Tom Hardy’s take on The Krays in Legend (2015). By that I mean, he’s one of those immensely nasty villains that are darkly hilarious despite their hideousness. His temper tantrums and Gollum-style mirror conversations with himself would make a great comedy if they weren't so serious.

This new disc contains commentaries and interviews (both old and new) with the cast. It’s a fascinating insight to know both the actors felt the script didn’t need one single change. Equally surprising is the lack of improvisation - with Kingsley specifically recounting his delivery of 8 “no’s” followed by a pause, then 13 more "no's" afterwards. Amazing.

Despite Kingsley’s disturbed Don Logan being perhaps the most memorable, Winstone isn’t overshadowed by any means and as the stakes rise, his reluctance to get involved is worn down and the actor portrays this turmoil brilliantly.

Jonathan Glazer’s flair for the theatrical and cinematic risks add an extra dimention to the story, especially in a film that may have easily been a forgotten entry in the British crime drama oeuvre. And with two extremely captivating central performances as good as these, Sexy Beast is an extraordinarily engaging and dark tragi-comedy of male anger, indignation and repentance.

★★★★

4 / 5

Michael Sales

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Sexy Beast arrives on Limited Edition Dual 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set and on Standard Editions on 28 September 2026 from Second Sight Films. We reviewed the new BluRay version.

Special Features 

• New Second Sight Films 4K restoration from the original camera negative supervised and approved by Director Jonathan Glazer
• Dual format edition including UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
• UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
• New audio commentary by John Bleasdale
• That’s the Job: a new interview with Actor Ray Winstone
• Poetic Drama: a new interview with Actor Sir Ben Kingsley
• The Real Criminal: a new interview with Actor Ian McShane
• That's Cinema: a new interview with Producer Jeremy Thomas
• Finding the Rhythm: a new interview with Editor Sam Sneade
• Beast Mode: Creating Don Logan – a video essay by Leigh Singer
• Behind the Scenes
• On Location
• Archive Cast & Crew Interviews

Limited Edition Contents

• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Neil Kellerhouse
• 160-page hardback book with new essays by David Michael Brown, Jamie Graham, Joel Harley, Nathan Lunn, Christina Newland, Katie Rife, Hannah Strong and Travis Woods
• 7 collectors' art cards