Overview
A high-stakes world of crime and betrayal unfolds in the underbelly of London.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- slick
- menacing
- witty
- crime movie night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised this as a stylized, electric British crime thriller with an efficient, gripping story, menacing atmosphere, and a compelling Daniel Craig performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The unnamed cocaine dealer has accumulated enough money to retire, but Jimmy Price's assignments and the surrounding criminal machinery prevent a clean exit.
The plot connects London gangsters, a wealthy construction magnate, a missing princess, and gossip-paper celebrity culture.
Jimmy Price orders the protagonist to locate Charlie Ryder, whose disappearance entangles him with Eddie Temple and multiple criminal groups.
The film combines an electric, stylish presentation with cocaine and ecstasy trafficking, a brutal Serbian gang, double crossings, and uncertainty about whom to trust.
Films like Layer Cake, and why
Snatch
stylized british gangster storytelling, criminal underworld maneuvering, rapid plotting, and darkly comic menace
RocknRolla
british crime thriller atmosphere, layered criminal schemes, and a protagonist trying to exit organized crime
The Long Good Friday
cool, morally compromised criminals, drug trafficking, betrayals, and an intelligent but precarious central operator
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
slick heist-driven crime plotting, criminal double-crosses, and escalating complications within a ruthless underworld
Movie Details
- Director
- Matthew Vaughn
- Release Date
- 2004-09-30
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (2477)
Cast
- Daniel Craig
- Sienna Miller
- Tom Hardy
- Colm Meaney
- George Harris
- Sally Hawkins
- Kenneth Cranham
- Jamie Foreman
- Michael Gambon
- Ben Whishaw
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Layer Cake about?
- A savvy London cocaine dealer's planned retirement collapses into a lethal maze of kidnappings, drug deals, and betrayals.
- What is Layer Cake like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Layer Cake as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Layer Cake violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Layer Cake as brutal.
- What did critics think of Layer Cake?
- Critics broadly praised this as a stylized, electric British crime thriller with an efficient, gripping story, menacing atmosphere, and a compelling Daniel Craig performance.
- Which films are like Layer Cake?
- Films with a similar feel include Snatch, RocknRolla, The Long Good Friday, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
- How long is Layer Cake?
- Layer Cake runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch Layer Cake?
- In United States, Layer Cake streams on Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel.
