Layer Cake
A successful cocaine dealer, who has earned a respected place amongst England's Mafia elite, plans an early retirement from the business. However, big boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) hands down a tough assignment: find Charlie Ryder (Nathalie Lunghi), the missing rich Princess daughter of Jimmy's old pal Eddie Temple (Sir Michael Gambon), a powerful construction business player and gossip papers socialite. Complicating matters are two million pounds' worth of Grade "A" ecstasy, a brutal Serbian gang, and a whole series of double crossings. The title "Layer Cake" refers to the layers or levels anyone in business goes through in rising to the top. What is revealed is a modern underworld where the rules have changed. There are no "codes", or "families", and respect lasts as long as a line. Not knowing who he can trust, he has to use all of his "savvy", "telling", and skills which make him one of the best, to escape his own. The ultimate last job, a love interest called Tammy (Sienna Miller), and an international drug ring threaten to draw him back into the "cake mix". But, time is running out and the penalty will endure a lifetime.
Working with a modest budget of $6.5M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $11.9M in global revenue (+83% profit margin).
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award2 wins & 9 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Layer Cake (2004) exemplifies precise narrative design, characteristic of Matthew Vaughn's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 45 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.9, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes XXXX (Daniel Craig) narrates his philosophy: he's a businessman, not a gangster. He deals cocaine like a commodity trader - professional, detached, planning to retire wealthy at the top of his game.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Jimmy Price summons XXXX for a meeting and assigns him two unwanted jobs: find Charlie's missing daughter (a junkie named Slasher who stole 2 million ecstasy pills from Serbian gangsters) and broker a deal for a massive quantity of high-grade cocaine. XXXX's retirement plans are threatened.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to XXXX commits to both jobs despite his better judgment. He actively chooses to track down Slasher and negotiate the cocaine deal with Duke, crossing the threshold from his controlled world into a chaotic underworld he cannot manage with his usual methods., moving from reaction to action.
At 52 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat XXXX is summoned by Eddie Temple, a powerful crime lord who reveals he knows everything about XXXX's operations. Temple implies Jimmy Price has been using XXXX as a pawn. What seemed like manageable problems are revealed to be orchestrated traps in a war between criminal powers. False security collapses., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 79 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Multiple deaths devastate XXXX's world: Duke and his gang are massacred, innocent people die in the crossfire, and XXXX realizes Jimmy Price set him up to take the fall in Temple's war. His dream of a clean exit dies - he's in too deep, and people close to him are dying., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 83 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Eddie Temple offers XXXX a way out: eliminate Jimmy Price and take over his organization. XXXX gains clarity - he must stop pretending to be above the game and act decisively. He synthesizes his business skills with necessary ruthlessness to survive and escape., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Layer Cake's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Layer Cake against these established plot points, we can identify how Matthew Vaughn utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Layer Cake within the crime genre.
Matthew Vaughn's Structural Approach
Among the 7 Matthew Vaughn films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.8, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Layer Cake represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Matthew Vaughn filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Batman Forever and 12 Rounds. For more Matthew Vaughn analyses, see The King's Man, Stardust and Kick-Ass.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
XXXX (Daniel Craig) narrates his philosophy: he's a businessman, not a gangster. He deals cocaine like a commodity trader - professional, detached, planning to retire wealthy at the top of his game.
Theme
XXXX's voiceover warns: "Always work alone, always work clean, and never get too close to anyone." The theme of false security through detachment and the illusion of control in the criminal underworld is established.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to XXXX's carefully controlled world: his network of dealers, his relationship with supplier Jimmy Price, his crew (Morty, Gene, Tiptoes), and his efficient, low-profile operation. We see his success and methodical approach to the drug trade.
Disruption
Jimmy Price summons XXXX for a meeting and assigns him two unwanted jobs: find Charlie's missing daughter (a junkie named Slasher who stole 2 million ecstasy pills from Serbian gangsters) and broker a deal for a massive quantity of high-grade cocaine. XXXX's retirement plans are threatened.
Resistance
XXXX resists but investigates both situations. He meets the unpredictable Duke (the cocaine supplier), learns about the Serbian threat, and consults with his crew. He debates refusing but realizes Jimmy Price doesn't take no for an answer. The jobs grow more dangerous as complications emerge.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
XXXX commits to both jobs despite his better judgment. He actively chooses to track down Slasher and negotiate the cocaine deal with Duke, crossing the threshold from his controlled world into a chaotic underworld he cannot manage with his usual methods.
Mirror World
XXXX meets Tammy, Eddie Temple's daughter, at a social gathering. She represents a life outside the criminal world - sophisticated, legitimate, desirable. Their attraction suggests the possibility of the normal life XXXX claims to want.
Premise
XXXX navigates the increasingly complex underworld: tracking Slasher through drug dens, negotiating with the volatile Duke, managing the Serbian threat, and getting deeper into a world where his "businessman" approach proves inadequate. The fun of watching a smart operator work unravels as chaos multiplies.
Midpoint
XXXX is summoned by Eddie Temple, a powerful crime lord who reveals he knows everything about XXXX's operations. Temple implies Jimmy Price has been using XXXX as a pawn. What seemed like manageable problems are revealed to be orchestrated traps in a war between criminal powers. False security collapses.
Opposition
The walls close in: Duke's crew becomes a liability, the Serbians escalate their hunt for the pills, XXXX discovers Temple and Price are manipulating him against each other, and his crew members start getting killed. His careful rules fail as violence and betrayal surround him.
Collapse
Multiple deaths devastate XXXX's world: Duke and his gang are massacred, innocent people die in the crossfire, and XXXX realizes Jimmy Price set him up to take the fall in Temple's war. His dream of a clean exit dies - he's in too deep, and people close to him are dying.
Crisis
XXXX processes the carnage and betrayal. His illusion of control shattered, he faces the dark truth: there is no "layer cake" - no predictable structure where smart operators rise safely. The criminal world is chaos, and his detachment was always a lie.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Eddie Temple offers XXXX a way out: eliminate Jimmy Price and take over his organization. XXXX gains clarity - he must stop pretending to be above the game and act decisively. He synthesizes his business skills with necessary ruthlessness to survive and escape.
Synthesis
XXXX executes his plan: sets up Jimmy Price's assassination, recovers the stolen pills to neutralize the Serbian threat, and positions himself to walk away. He delivers the pills, settles accounts, and prepares to finally retire with Tammy. The finale resolves all threads.
Transformation
XXXX meets Tammy outside, victorious and ready for his new life. A figure from his past appears and shoots him on the steps. As he collapses, his narration reflects on the final lesson: in the criminal world, you never truly get out. The cycle continues without him.