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Layer Cake poster

Movies that feel likeLayer Cake (2004)

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

If you loved Layer Cake, the closest films we have are Killing Them Softly (2012), We Own the Night (2007) and Traffic (2000). All three share Layer Cake's tense and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Hyena (2015).

πŸ… 81% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Matthew Vaughncontemplativetensegritty
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Criterion Channel

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If Layer Cake hit the spot, these will too

Killing Them Softly poster
Killing Them Softly
2012 Β· dir. Andrew Dominik
πŸ… 74%β˜… 6.2crime Β· thriller

The same two preoccupations: hitman, and gangster

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Layer Cake

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.

We Own the Night poster
We Own the Night
2007 Β· dir. James Gray
πŸ… 57%β˜… 6.8drama Β· crime Β· thriller

Both are working the same pair: cocaine, murder

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

Traffic poster
Traffic
2000 Β· dir. Steven Soderbergh
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5thriller Β· drama Β· crime

Two things both keep coming back to: drug smuggling and drug trafficking

An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 Β· dir. John Dahl
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7crime Β· thriller

Both are built on the same subject: hitman

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

Hyena poster
Hyena
2015 Β· dir. Gerard Johnson
πŸ… 78%β˜… 6.2crime Β· drama Β· thriller

One thread runs through both: cocaine

Good policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?

John Q poster
John Q
2002 Β· dir. Nick Cassavetes
πŸ… 26%β˜… 7.1drama Β· thriller Β· crimeStarz

Both keep coming back to the same thing: kidnapping

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.

The Bank Job poster
The Bank Job
2008 Β· dir. Roger Donaldson
πŸ… 79%β˜… 7.2thriller Β· crime Β· dramaPrime Video

The same mix in both: stillness, then tension

Terry is a small-time car dealer trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Martine is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighbourhood who knows that Terry is no angel. When Martine proposes a foolproof plan to rob a bank, Terry recognises the danger but realises this may be the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Hit poster
The Hit
1984 Β· dir. Stephen Frears
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7drama Β· thriller Β· crimePrime Video

The same preoccupation in both: kidnapping

The difference: 20 years apart, and the 1980s show

Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.

36th Precinct poster
36th Precinct
2004 Β· dir. Olivier Marchal
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.1crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Both lean on grit more than on drama

In Paris, two cops are competing for the vacant job of chief of police, in the middle of the search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the French police before creating this story, taken in part from real events of the 1980s.

The Yellow Sea poster
The Yellow Sea
2010 Β· dir. Na Hong-jin
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.3drama Β· thriller Β· crime

Common ground: murder

A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 Β· dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
β˜… 6.5crime Β· thrillerNetflix

Thriller built on tension, twice over

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

Phone Booth poster
Phone Booth
2003 Β· dir. Joel Schumacher
πŸ… 72%β˜… 7.1thriller Β· crimePrime Video

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Layer Cake’s defining feeling.