Tagged: Drug Dealer
The Cream Suit in Layer Cake
SPOILER ALERT! Some photos in this post sorta give things away out of necessity. If you’re familiar with the film, great. If you’re not… eh, maybe wait a bit before reading this one.
Daniel Craig in Layer Cake (2004).
Vitals
Daniel Craig as an unnamed London drug dealer (“XXXX”, for simplicity’s sake)
London, Summer 2004
Film: Layer Cake
Release Date: October 1, 2004
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Costume Designer: Stephanie Collie
Background
As summer comes to a close, so will the seasonal focus on how to wear a good summer suit. There have been a range of styles, from fashion-forward mod suits (Michael Caine in The Italian Job) to double-breasted three-piece affairs (J.J. Gittes and Chalky White).
At the end of Layer Cake, Dan Craig has effectively negotiated the dangerous London drug underworld to announce his retirement, even with the prospect of taking over staring him in the face. Unlike so many gangsters – both real and cinematic – “XXXX” decides he’s made enough and had enough, and he chooses to retire and drive off into the sunset (or the afternoon sun) with his new girlfriend. Unfortunately, he may have made one careless mistake too many… Continue reading
George Jung’s White Leisure Suit in Blow
Johnny Depp as George Jung in Blow (2001), from New Line Cinema.
Vitals
Johnny Depp as George Jung, international cocaine dealer
Miami to Colombia, Summer 1977
Film: Blow
Release Date: April 6, 2001
Director: Ted Demme
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
Background
Pablo Escobar: So, you’re the man, huh? Who takes fifty kilos and make them disappear in one day.
George Jung: Actually, it was three days.
As a multimillion dollar-earning international drug dealer, George Jung was well-known to drug culture and law enforcement by the time Bruce Porter’s 1993 book, Blow, was released. However, it was the Ted Demme-directed 2001 film of the same name that brought Jung’s life into the mainstream with Johnny Depp in the lead role. Continue reading
Scarface: Tony’s White Pinstripe Suit
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983)
Vitals
Al Pacino as Tony Montana, ambitious Cuban-American cocaine dealer
Miami (and Colombia), Summer 1981
Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris
Tailor: Tommy Velasco
Background
One of the few sartorial rules actually practiced in the United States is adherence to the “no white after Labor Day” rule. While it’s technically outdated, having been decided after the Civil War by snobbish housewives who wanted to establish their place in society, it makes sense that light-colored attire would find its place in the summer. Further enhancing the arbitrary rule, the snobbish housewives’ society determined that Memorial Day would mark the first day for white clothing to be appropriate in polite society.
While he may not be the prime example of “polite society” in the eyes of postbellum America, Tony Montana redefined drug dealer chic in 1983’s Scarface with his numerous sharp suits and incomparable swagger while wearing them. Continue reading
American Gangster: Frank Lucas’ Light Brown Killer Suit
Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas in American Gangster (2007).
Vitals
Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, heroin kingpin
Harlem, Spring 1970
Film: American Gangster
Release Date: November 2, 2007
Director: Ridley Scott
Costume Designer: Janty Yates
Tailor: Leonard Logsdail
Background
Frank Lucas was a gangster and heroin kingpin that amassed millions of dollars during the Vietnam War importing pure heroin in the caskets of deceased servicemen. Continue reading
The Scarface White Wedding Suit
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983).
To wrap up the week of weddings, BAMF Style presents the first post about a character who was an adaptation of a character who was based on the man who was likely behind the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
So, yeah, logical choice for today once you wrap your brain around it.
Vitals
Al Pacino as Tony Montana, aka “Scarface”, Cuban drug kingpin
Miami, Summer 1982
Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris Continue reading
Layer Cake’s Dark Blue Pinstripe Jacket
Daniel Craig in Layer Cake (2004).
Vitals
Daniel Craig as an unnamed London drug dealer (but we can call him “XXXX”)
London, Summer 2004
Film: Layer Cake
Release Date: October 1, 2004
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Costume Designer: Stephanie Collie
Background
As I mentioned in the last Layer Cake post, this British crime drama (some could call it a black comedy) was seen as Daniel Craig’s “audition tape” for the role of Bond. He was a sharply-dressed, sympathetically violent, and stoic Londoner who differed from Bond only by being a gangster instead of a secret agent. Continue reading
Breaking Bad: Gus Fring’s Mexican Vendetta in “Salud”
Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring on Breaking Bad, Episode 4.10, “Salud”. This is not a shot from the finished episode; I grabbed screenshots as the camera panned up from his shoes to his torso, then compiled them together. I’m not a photo editor by any means, but I’m still pretty impressed by the result.
This week saw the return of Breaking Bad on AMC, one of the greatest shows on television today (and ever). Since not everyone has caught up (hurry up, people!), I must warn that there are some spoilers in this post.
Vitals
Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo “Gus” Fring, Chilean-born meth distributor and fried chicken entreprenuer
Michoacán, Mexico, July 2010
Background
As an astute commenter on this blog once noted, Giancarlo Esposito’s character of Gus Fring was a “man of refined style” and was worthy of inclusion here. (Thanks, Roman!) After finishing Gus’s arc, I couldn’t agree more!
Though not one of the lead characters, two-season antagonist Gustavo “Gus” Fring made an impression on viewers as an affable and charming villain with a sharp sense of style (unless wearing his Los Pollos Hermanos uniform). As the all-knowing yin to Walter White’s yang, Fring was always two steps ahead with, at least until the end, no apparent Achilles heel.
Fring’s shining moment of glory is in “Salud”, the tenth episode of the fourth season. In the episode, Fring travels with apprentice-turned-master-chemist Jesse Pinkman and loyal henchman Mike to Mexico to meet with the cartel about a meth deal. Jesse is oblivious, but Mike and Gus have a dangerous plan hatched. Continue reading
Layer Cake
Daniel Craig in Layer Cake (2004).
Seeing as the stoner holiday of 4/20 is coming up this weekend, it’s only appropriate that BAMF Style profiles a cinematic drug dealer. However, the classy “businessman” of Layer Cake is hardly the traditional dealer…
Vitals
Daniel Craig as an unnamed London drug dealer
London, Summer 2004
Film: Layer Cake
Release Date: October 1, 2004
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Costume Designer: Stephanie Collie
Background
Layer Cake could almost be called Daniel Craig’s test drive as Bond. While more timid than the infamous spy (“I hate guns! Although that one is very pretty…”), he plays a cunning, manipulative, and cheeky anti-hero with a conflicting but specific set of morals. He also has a pretty sharp wardrobe without resorting to Bond’s dinner jacket and martini trope. Also, much like Bond, he gets to enjoy a steamy mid-day hotel room tryst with a femme fatale, until he is rudely interrupted of course.
However, there is one major difference glaring between Daniel Craig in Layer Cake and Daniel Craig as Bond. In Layer Cake, he plays a criminal. A drug dealer, to be exact. Now, he is a drug dealer with morals, but still, I think we can all agree that drug dealing is a profession Bond would look down upon. Although, as Dan himself tells us in the film’s narration…
I’m not a gangster, just a businessman. And my commodity happens to be cocaine.