10 Utterly Devastating Film Endings That Totally Came Out Of Nowhere
4. Layer Cake - XXXX Gets Shot
The cinematic equivalent of a kick in the crotch, Layer Cake's notorious ending is fast turning into the Citizen Kane of where-the-hell-did-that-come-from endings.
Let's set the scene - Craig's nameless character has managed to negotiate the criminal underworld without suffering a painful death, has walked away with a pretty penny after conning Michael Gambon, has the beautiful Sienna Miller on his arm and has set his friends up as big fish in the crime world. It's damned impressive what he's done and he's in the midst of a smug speech when he's shot by Miller's boyfriend on the steps of a Country Club.
Granted, it's quite clever - the one loose end that Daniel Craigs character didn't consider came back to pulverise him for stealing his girlfriend, and it fits into his assassins character that the actual murder - alright, you don't see him die, but it's heavily implied - would be a slapdash, sudden affair. Yet still, it was the equivalent of being caught with your pants down unexpectedly.
Mind you, for any fans of place-that-face its kind of entertaining to see the guy who plays Q kill James Bond. Admittedly its a bit sad to notice that, but cool nonetheless.