The feeling of being trapped when wanting to escape from a dangerous world is what the film Layer Cake explores, which is brought to life thanks to the penetrating acting talent of Daniel Craig.
Layer Cake paints the picture of a good-willed cocaine dealer who wants to leave his life of crime, but like the crime code declares: once you’re in, there’s no getting out.
The ruggedness of the British crime world depicted in Layer Cake matches well with Daniel Craig’s rugged, yet regal face. That oxymoron is important because the central meaning of the film is that Daniel Craig’s nameless drug dealer is a piece of elegance amidst a world of sloppy violence.
Craig plays his drug dealer character as a tortured soul. When his drug dealer is ordered to execute a man, Craig does the deed, but it has insomnia-inducing effects on him. It’s his conscience that’s in the way.
The fact that Craig’s drug dealer does not belong in the crime world is pointed out countless times throughout the movie. One of the instances is when crime boss Eddie Temple (played by Michael Gambon) tells Craig that he is a “bright young man” with “potential.” That bright potential can be seen immediately in Craig’s wide ice-blue eyes. Another instance of Craig’s diamond-amongst-slime status is the fact that Craig’s only act of violence in Layer Cake is reluctantly killing a man with a silenced gun.
The drug dealer that Craig portrays is a man who has gotten involved with the wrong crowd, which is the theme of so many movies about good-willed heroes. Craig reaches out to touch the world he longs to be apart of when he meets a club girl named Tammy (played by Sienna Miller). Craig and Tammy have a genuine attraction to each other. Unfortunately, Craig’s foreplay with Tammy is interrupted by the endless demands of Craig’s profession.
Unlike a film like Kill Bill, which has scenes that are not sequenced chronologically, Layer Cake tells a coherent story from beginning to end. There are plot points that are shown on camera, but not referenced until thirty minutes later. But the point is the storyline is not over the audience’s heads. The film’s plot points are piled smoothly on top of each other like an intricate, yet simply delicious “layered cake.”
The cinematography of Layer Cake is as rugged and elegant as Daniel Craig’s character. The film’s juxtaposition of camera frames speaks its own language that is as expressive as the dialogue. There’s an intense close-up of Craig’s blue eyes that penetrates through the screen. The viewer can almost see through to Craig’s soul. It is appropriate to say that the film’s visuals are a lesson in rugged sleekness.
The plight of Daniel Craig’s drug dealer seems to be headed towards happiness, but the viewer gets the feeling that the old crime code of being in and never getting out will chain Craig forever. It seems that what Layer Cake is conveying is that Craig’s drug dealer will find happiness only in death.
