SEXY BEAST: British Film Week at FOMO Cinema Tbilisi

June 16-21 FOMO is taking a tour through some of the most distinctive films to emerge from the United Kingdom over the last fifty years. Punk manifestos. Social realism. Gangster films. Cult classics. Coming-of-age stories. Music culture. Working-class Britain. Films that helped define entire generations, alongside newer works that show where British cinema is heading today.

SEXY BEAST

Jonathan Glazer | 2000 | United Kingdom/Spain | 1h30m | Presented in the original English audio with English subtitles

SEXY BEAST is one of those films that reminds me why I decided to open an Independent cinema in the first place.

On paper, it sounds like a film we've both seen a hundred times before. A retired gangster is living comfortably overseas when a terrifying figure from his criminal past arrives and tries to drag him back for one last job.

The first time I saw SEXY BEAST I couldn't believe what I was watching. The film operates according to a weird dream logic only a director like Glazer could dream up. By the time it's over you've watched what is essentially a gangster film and yet it feels closer to the funniest horror movie you've ever seen.

A large part of that comes down to Ben Kingsley. His performance as Don Logan has become the stuff of legend. I've lost count of how many times I've seen this film and he still makes me squirm in my seat every single time. Don Logan isn't especially physically imposing, nor is he especially intelligent. Yet every scene he appears in feels dangerous because you never know what he's going to do next.

SEXY BEAST is Glazer's breakout debut. He had previously directed music videos and commercials and approached the gangster genre with absolutely no interest in following established rules. The editing is strange. The soundtrack is even stranger. The camera constantly finds unexpected angles and moments. Everything feels slightly off balance in the best possible way.

I think it's one of the great British films of the last thirty years. Not one of the great British gangster films. One of the great British films, full stop. Every time I revisit it I discover something new. Every scene lands. There isn't a wasted moment anywhere in it's tight 90 minute runtime.

I decided to pair SEXY BEAST with TRAINSPOTTING because both films take familiar British genres and jolt them back to life. Boyle does it with the social-realist drama. Glazer does it with the gangster film. The result is two films that still feel ridiculously fresh decades later.

If you've never seen SEXY BEAST before, I'm genuinely jealous. You're about to discover one of the most thrilling British films ever made.

FOOD AND DRINK POLICY: FOMO Cinema Lounge Bar opens 1 hour before the first screening of the day and closes at 02:00, serving a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic refreshments including coffee and tea, as well as fresh hot popcorn! Outside food is allowed in the bar but not in the cinema. No alcohol from outside allowed. All guests are invited to arrive early and stay late!

LOCATION: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.

HOW TO FIND FOMO: Enter Bazari Orbeliani via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left to Level 1. Signage on the door. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTMzMTA2Mjk0MDI5MjM1