1 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Released 22 years ago.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Layer Cake
"The art of good business is being a good middleman."
2004 1h 45m EN
👍
6.9
SOLID
★6.9TMDB · 2,483
DramaThrillerCrime
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...
“The art of good business is being a good middleman.”
Cast
Daniel Craig
XXXX
Sienna Miller
Tammy
Tom Hardy
Clarkie
Colm Meaney
Gene
George Harris
Morty
Sally Hawkins
Slasher
Kenneth Cranham
Jimmy Price
Jamie Foreman
Duke
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Matthew Vaughn
- Writers
- J.J. Connolly
- Languages
- English, Romanian
- Countries
- United Kingdom
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Romanian.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, shot by Ben Davis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Lisa Gerrard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Jon Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller and Tom Hardy carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "The art of good business is being a good middleman.".
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0375912 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Matthew Vaughn directs. Ben Davis behind the camera. Lisa Gerrard scores. Jon Harris cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Romanian.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Released 22 years ago.
- 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Romanian.
- 3Directed by Matthew Vaughn, shot by Ben Davis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by Lisa Gerrard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor Jon Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller and Tom Hardy carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "The art of good business is being a good middleman.".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0375912 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Classified under 16 themes, including "london, england", "based on novel or book", "drug smuggling", "hitman".
- 10Released under 12 different titles around the world.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Ben Davis
- Original score
- Lisa Gerrard
- Editing
- Jon Harris
- Production design
- Kave Quinn
- Costume design
- Stephanie Collie
- Makeup / hair
- Maureen Hetherington
- Sound
- Sven Taits
- Runtime
- 105 min · 1h 45m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $6,500,000
- Box office
- $11,900,000
- Return
- 183% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
Also by
Matthew Vaughn
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- John Chard★ 9/10
I'm not a gangster, just a businessman. And my commodity happens to be cocaine. With a considerable amount of cash saved from his, ahem, dealings. A London drug dealer is all set to retire abroad and start a new life. However his mob boss Jimmy Price has two jobs for him to do immediately... Layer Cake is directed by Matthew Vaughn. Vaughn is more well known as Guy Ritchie's producer on his early British gangster genre forays. Suffice to say he had some insight into what made those films {Snatch et al} hugely popular with the watching British public. How pleasing it is then to say that Vaughn, by showing restraint and an unfussy approach, has crafted a film that's more than equal to the best of Britain gangster faves, and actually sets new parameters for toning a film. By focusing more on mood and atmosphere over bombastic scenarios, Vaughn, aided by a superlative Daniel Craig as the nameless dealer, lifts the film above its conventional plot arc. In what could have been a standard tale of a man doing one last job before going straight, we, along with Craig, find that all roads are blocked, it's as if there is some higher force at work here. Layer Cake also scores high for its more easy on the eye filming of London, this is no destitute capital where tower blocks loom like monsters over the characters. This London is thriving, vim and vitality, the place to be, seediness is far from the ebullient crowd. Ben Davis' photography perfectly complimenting the engrossing score from Lisa Gerrard & Ilan Eshkeri, both of which serve to make London an extra character in the story. The film however is not perfect, at 105 minutes it's actually too short, something that only becomes apparent when all the plot strands come crashing together in a rushed last quarter. Yet in spite of that failing, the ending delivers a jolt to the system, to crown, what to me at least, is one of Britain's finest and tidiest gangster offerings. 9/10
- r96sk★ 10/10
Absolutely tremendous! I haven't got much <em>(edit: five paragraphs later...)</em> to say about <em>'Layer Cake'</em>, but that's only because it's simply one of those movies that is undeniably outstanding, to the point it's plain and simple that it requires little explanation. I had heard this bandied about down the years as being arguably Daniel Craig's best, though that is all that I knew about it. What a film! I knew it was one of my favourites because I got goosebumps as soon as the credits rolled as I processed it and that only happens for the movies I adore. Going back to Craig, that man is superb in this, definitely one of the best performances of his that I've seen - up there with <em>'Knives Out'</em>. That's also saying something, given his other stellar stint as that spy geezer. Michael Gambon is, though, the one I enjoyed most. I'm already a big fan of his, though here he is also a notch above; his voice is up is just so iconic. Away from Craig & Gambon, I lost track of all the known faces that appeared <em>insert Rick Dalton meme here</em>. Crazy to see Tom Hardy in this and that he's used the least of his whole crew! I also didn't even recognise Sally Hawkins, despite seeing her name in the opening credits! Simply put: It's brilliantly entertaining! I loved every second, quite literally. It gave me exactly what I wanted from a British gangster flick, so many from this subgenre fail to correctly tow the line between the crime and comedic gangster elements so it can either be cringe or boring, or even both. This, however, utterly nailed it for me. It also holds a pleasing score, you give me that, an entertaining plot and a fantastic cast then, I'm afraid, I am gonna love your movie. It does surpass (the great) <em>'Stardust'</em> as my standout Matthew Vaughn flick.
Production companies
Who made it
Marv
GB
Key crew
- Set DecorationJoanna Barrs
- Costume DesignStephanie Collie
- CastingJina Jay
- CastingLeo Davis
- EditorJon Harris
- Production DesignKave Quinn
- Art DirectionSteve Carter
- ProducerMatthew Vaughn
- ProducerDavid Reid
- ProducerAdam Bohling
- NovelJ.J. Connolly
- Casting AssistantDixie Chassay
- Script SupervisorMary Haddow
- Unit PublicistDiane Kelly
- Sound MixerSimon Hayes
- HairstylistMaureen Hetherington
- Foley ArtistJason Swanscott
- Makeup ArtistPebbles Day
- Makeup ArtistFae Hammond
- Makeup ArtistMaureen Hetherington
- ADR RecordistPeter Gleaves
- Makeup ArtistKaren Sherriff-Brown
- Sound Re-Recording MixerSven Taits
- First Assistant DirectorMichael Elliott
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- london, england
- based on novel or book
- drug smuggling
- hitman
- kidnapping
- gangster
- drug trafficking
- ecstasy
- cocaine
- drug mule
- mission of murder
- murder
- cafe
- rooftop
- neo-noir
- crack head
Release history · US
When it landed
- Premiere2005-04-22· Newport Beach International Film Festival
- Theatrical2005-05-13R
Also known as
International titles
- L4yer CakeUS
- PrzekładaniecPL
- TortaHU
- 夹心蛋糕CN
- Layer cakeES
- The PusherIT
- Layer Cake - Hierarchie der GewaltDE
- Nada é o Que PareceBR
- No todo es lo que pareceMX
- Χάπια, Σφαίρες & 2.000.000 ΛίρεςGR
- No todo es lo que pareceAR
- Слоеный пирогRU
