Arka Mukhopadhyay
Helmed by Matthew Vaughn, ‘Layer Cake‘ is an enthralling crime drama. Set in the heart of England, the story follows an unnamed protagonist who longs to leave the drug business but gets tangled up in a wicked plot. With a star-studded cast led by the charismatic Daniel Craig, the film takes the viewers to shady urban and industrial locations of the city to unearth a complex network of drug trafficking. If you seek to know the specific locations visited by the crew, we have your back.
Layer Cake Filming Locations
‘Layer Cake’ was filmed in and around England and Netherlands, with its locus in London. Filming commenced in June 2003 and was wrapped up shortly after, following which, the film went into post-production. Let us now take you to the specific locations where the film was shot.
London, United Kingdom
The majority of the film was shot in and around locations of London. The film begins with the protagonist walking through a street and meeting his associate Clarkie. The scene was filmed at Formosa Street in London. In an early moment in the film, XXXX goes to meet con artists Cody and Tiptoes and coincidentally bumps into Duke’s nephew Sidney. The sequence was filmed in the nightclub Pacha at Terminus Place in Victoria SW1V 1JR, which has been shut down since 2014.
Shortly after, XXXX and Morty go to a cafe for breakfast, and Morty gets an unexpected visit from an old associate. The meeting brings back old memories for Morty, and he raises hell. The scene was filmed in Regency Cafe, a 30s style breakfast joint tucked away at 17-19 Regency Street at Page Street, Victoria.
Looking to find the whereabouts of Charlie Temple, XXXX and Morty visit a drug den to find Charlie’s boyfriend Kinky dead. The flats where the sequence was filmed were located at Beeson Street, but the building has now been demolished.
After getting threats from Dragan, XXXX arranges a tryst with Tammy at a hotel room. The hotel proved to be St. Martins Lane London, a landmark hotel located at 45 St. Martin’s Lane in the West End district of Covent Garden.
Before XXXX can see Tammy in her lingerie outfit, he is abducted by Eddie Temple’s men and taken to the rooftop of a high-rise where he meets the kingpin himself. The building which was used for the scene is located at 1 West India Quay in Isle of Dogs.
XXXX gets to know that Jimmy is a police informant and goes to kill him. After executing the murder, he comes back to his apartment and reflects upon his deed. A residence at 7 Queen’s Gate Mews in Kensington served as the apartment of XXXX in the film. And guess what, the house was once owned by Guy Ritchie! Moreover, the safe house where Gene beats up XXXX is in actuality located at Warwick Way in Pimlico, London.
Later, XXXX is summoned again by Temple in a library, where Temple makes an offer to buy the drugs. The scene was filmed at the historic location of The Athenaeum Club. Located at 107 Pall Mall Street in St. James’s, London, the 19th-century club has been frequented by many noted personalities among the British intelligentsia.
In the meantime, XXXX visits Mr. Singh’s office to find that the accountant has disappeared. The scene was filmed at a location on Bedford Row near Princeton Street in WC1.
Later still, XXXX seeks help from sniper Mr. Lucky to one-up the formidable Serbian assassin, Dragan. He arranges a meet with Dragan by the statue of General Wolfe at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park and goes to pick up Mr. Lucky from Paddington Station, a busy railway terminus situated at Praed Street in Paddington, England.
In the finality of events, XXXX and his gang go to meet Eddie Temple at his storage facility for the drug handoff. A hovering camera captures them as they cross the Southwark bridge, which is located in the Southwark neighborhood across River Thames.
The storage facility that was used for filming the final encounter at Eddie’s office proved to be Heinz Storage Facility, a ginormous warehouse located in the industrial and logistics hub of Premier Park at Park Royal in Stonebridge Park locality.
Middlesex, United Kingdom
The crew also visited the county of Middlesex to film a few crucial sequences. The studio work was predominantly carried out in Twickenham Film Studios, which is located at St Margaret’s in Twickenham, Middlesex.
In an early sequence of the film, XXXX goes to meet Duke for a drug parcel pick-up. The scene was filmed at Brentford High Street in Brentford in the same county. Later, Clarkie and Terry keep an eye on Sidney while he gets pizzas. The scene was shot at High Street in Brentford.
Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
At the beginning of the film, Daniel Craig’s character is summoned by Jimmy Price at a lavish and decadent club. In the end, the film comes full circle at the same location. The director chose to film the sequences in the Stoke Park House, situated at Park Road in Stoke Poges in the English county of Buckinghamshire.
In another scene, XXXX and his gang meet the Liverpool boys in an attempt to sell the drugs. The scene was filmed at Welcome Break, a rest stop located at Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire.
Later, XXXX meets Trevor at a footbridge on M1 Motorway in the Newport Pagnell area.
West Drayton, United Kingdom
In the penultimate scene in the film, XXXX goes to buy the drugs from Gazza, but the place is apparently raided by the police. The group escapes the scene on a boat. The scene was filmed at Wraysbury Drive in West Drayton. The waterway proved to be the Grand Union Canal. The location has gone through a major restructuring.
Surrey, United Kingdom
Following information obtained from Eddie, XXXX goes to kill his deceitful boss Jimmy Price at his mansion. The house that was used for filming the scene is situated in the posh neighborhood of St. George’s Hill at Weybridge in Surrey.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
In an early moment in the film, Duke and his girlfriend are seen to be walking through a street in Amsterdam. The scene was filmed in Oudezijds Voorburgwal, which is an iconic canal and street that passes through De Wallen, the central district of the city. Duke receives a call by the canal at Stoofsteeg, which is the red light district of the city.
Read More: Best Daniel Craig Films
