Layer Cake

Layer Cake: Sienna Miller

Layer Cake

Cast: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Michael Gambon

The film centers on a cocaine distributor played by Daniel Craig. The character, who also narrates the film, is deliberately unnamed throughout, but is listed in the credits as "XXXX". XXXX has established a successful business in London buying, cutting and selling cocaine while avoiding the largesse and gangster behaviour associated with drug dealing. Having made his fortune, he secretly plans to retire from the business for good.
XXXX's boss, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) sends him to track down Charlie, the teenage daughter of Price's associate, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon), who has fled a rehabilitation centre with her drug-addicted boyfriend. In reality, XXXX is being sent to kidnap Charlie to help Jimmy blackmail Temple over a bad investment.

At the same time, Price instructs XXXX to organise the purchase and distribution of one million ecstasy tablets from a gangster named The Duke (Jamie Foreman). Unbeknownst to XXXX, the pills have been stolen from a gang of Serbian war criminals. Jimmy has found out about XXXX's plans to retire, and believes that either the Serbian gang or Eddie Temple's mercenaries will kill XXXX, allowing him to recover some of his losses.

XXXX's world gradually unravels as he discovers Jimmy Price is informing for the police; XXXX's associate, Morty (George Harris) goes into hiding after brutally beating a former associate in front of a restaurant full of people; the Duke and his gang mysteriously disappear; and the ruthless Eddie Temple involves himself in the already bungled ecstasy deal.

XXXX devises an elaborate scam to play his various adversaries off against one another, and ends up in the clear with both the money and the drugs, and most of his enemies dead. He sticks to his original plan to retire, but as he leaves a celebratory lunch with his associates, he is shot on the front steps of the country house restaurant by The Duke's nephew, Sidney (Ben Whishaw), in revenge for stealing his girlfriend, Tammy (Sienna Miller). The film ends with XXXX left lying bleeding on the steps, his fate unknown.