Paramount+'s 'Sexy Beast' Prequel Utterly Misses the Mark
The 2000 British classic Sexy Beast is technically a gangster film, a crime drama, and a heist flick, but Jonathan Glazer’s trail-blazing debut is more interested in being something else entirely. Living out his retirement in peaceful British expat bliss in Spain, ex-criminal Gal Dove (Ray Winstone) is approached by the sociopathic, neurodivergent-coded Don (an Oscar-nominated Ben Kingsley), an old friend who wants to lure him back to England for one last job. Gal refuses, and what follows is a long and tortuous duel with the devil, with Don berating his former associate with abuse, manipulation, and humiliation to get what he wants. It’s less a crime movie and more a mythic tale of never escaping your violent past and being haunted by a vengeful wraith.
Paramount+’s Sexy Beast, a prequel series detailing the London-based criminal enterprises of a younger Gal (James McArdle) and Don (Emun Elliott), has none of the style, restraint, or impact of the film it’s inexplicably telling an eight-episode 1990s origin story to. Glazer has just been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars for his latest film; it’s unlikely that most audiences will get through the Sexy Beast prequel's first episode. Despite some worthy efforts from lone cast members and a sincere but misguided attempt to grapple with the world Gal felt pushed to leave behind, Sexy Beast is as disposable as British crime sagas can get.
You don’t need to know the ins and outs of the original Sexy Beast to enjoy this prequel, but the problem with showrunner/director Michael Caleo’s series is that if you love Glazer’s Sexy Beast, you’ll hate this show for missing what was appealing about the film. Equally, if you don’t know anything about Glazer’s original, you’ll fail to be impressed by Caleo’s limp and overlong crime story. Gal is a competent but small-time crook whose illegitimate enterprises are thus far unnoticed by his loved ones, including fiance Marjorie (Eliza Bennett) and rave-fiend younger sister Ann Marie (Clea Martin).
