Read the book...
...its ten times better than this movie.
shareYes. Have you read Viva La Madness yet?
shareSadly that book was a terrible disappointment .
I think the author might have only one good book in him.
[deleted]
[deleted]
MovieChat Forums > Layer Cake (2005) Discussion > Read the book...
Disclaimer: I still think the movie is awesome.
shareI really loved this movie. I looked up the book and the summary of the book sounds vastly different from the movie. I saw that the author of the book also wrote the screenplay. So has anyone read the book and seen the movie? Are they very different? Does the movie do the book justice?
shareThe movie was very faithful to the book. The main difference is the ending.The way in which xxxx and co. "recover" the pills from Eddie is different. Freddy Hurst dies. xxxx survives being shot by Sydney, but has to go on the run in the Caribbean after the police target him. He also gets a metal plate in his head (shot in the head instead of the chest) and starts having memory problems. In fact, in Viva la Madness, it is hinted that he doesn't remember killing Jimmy.
Thit and thpin!
well done mate.
i found viva la madness an engaging read. sure, it wasn't as lively nor zany as layer cake but it was a compelling page turner with a well baked plot. i was disappointed to see the film project got dropped. quite sad. was looking forward to that.
but for me, nothing will ever compare to the original film (layer cake)
The movie is an easy watch, thanks to the narration, but the plot devices are too convenient and how they show the mechanics of the London underworld are run seemed a bit too cartoonish to think that a dipwad like Jimmy would be lording over people like xXx, Gene, and Morty. One moment he's a smooth operator with tentacles touching finance, global investment and even having London Metro Police on the take, the next he's a bumbling fool who feels jilted by Eddie Temple so he enacts a kidnapping scheme using one of his own top earners who for some reason he wants to be put away into prison with no plan of who he's going to replace him with. Add to that the even more cartoonish Duke and his juvenile hit squad and the make drug dealing look like an after-school operation not a complex and dangerous lifestyle. The saving grace of the film is its stylish cinematography and Daniel Craig's cool and calm demeanor under duress.
I sometimes wonder if the book would be better suited as a TV series on Netflix so that all of the characters and plot lines could be better developed?
you make excellent points. i can't believe i never saw this thread until now.
cartoonish is a good word for it.
i have always thought jimmy was miscast. and possibly duke too, although now jamie's performance has become lore at this point. but, he was definitely too over the top. yes duke was OTT in the book but it coulda been handled better in the film.
jimmy, though, i just thought he came off so weak. it seems like none of them would take his authority seriously. the guy who played brick top would've been a better choice, IMO
as matthew vaughn stated in the commentary, this was basically his student film, designed to launch him into a career, and it worked perfectly. he detests people pointing out all the little flaws or minor inconsistencies, but IMO this is just evidence of the fans' love for the film. they are 'INTO' it in a big way, which makes them care. pointing out things gives them some minor ownership, participation in the process. so i think it's cool when fans get on board in that way.
as anyone on this board already knows, this is my number one favorite movie of all time, and also that i have been crowned the 'Official Worldwide Number One Fan' of layer cake, by the true entities that matter. and, though i haven't hounted this board lately like i used to, maybe i will soon dust off my certificate ^ (it's hanging on the wall near my desk as i type this) and dive back in. who knows.
cheers,
LTUM