Is Matthew Vaughn's Layer Cake Based On A True Story?

In the same vein as Guy Ritchie's wildly popular crime movies like "Snatch" and "RocknRolla," "Layer Cake" is another addition to the world of British crime films. The film was the directorial debut of Matthew Vaughn and starred Daniel Craig before he agreed to play James Bond. But what also sets "Layer Cake" apart from other crime films of its kind is that it is based on fact. At least, to an extent. Adapted from J.J. Connolly's 2000 book of the same name, many of the events of the film are based on the writer's conversations with criminals. In the 20th-anniversary celebration article of the book, Connolly delved deep into the genesis of the story.

"Many of the anecdotes, the short stories within the larger 'Layer Cake' story, were true, recounted verbatim," Connolly wrote for GQ. But he also maintained that he was never a criminal. He wasn't Craig's unnamed protagonist in the film, a businessman at heart who just wants to get out of the game. And never was Connolly close enough to these events to earn Craig's fate at the end of the film.

"How autobiographical was 'Layer Cake?'" Connolly mused. "It might have been somebody's autobiography, but it certainly wasn't mine."

The underworld of "Layer Cake" is seedy, immersive, and tantalizing. No one can blame an audience for thinking — or perhaps even hoping — that J.J. Connolly was involved in criminal activity. But like any good book, "Layer Cake" was the subject of meticulous research. The author spoke to those in the criminal world with the intent of writing a book about it.

"When I started telling certain acquaintances I was writing a book about a low-profile drug dealer, a lot of gents, I realized, had a real need to tell me about their escapades," Connolly recounted. "Guys would insist: 'I gotta tell you this, you can use this, this is good.'" This was how the writer got his sources of information. The world seemed to open up to him the more he observed and became receptive to this information. Perhaps it was his writing style that ultimately convinced people he was part of some great criminal empire. "Layer Cake" was a smash success, and that can be attributed to his punchy dialogue and immersive characters. But in the end, that's all it was: the talent of one writer to throw his audiences into a fascinating world.

"I'm sorry to disappoint — but facts are facts: I was never a criminal, certainly not a drug dealer. I would have had a major propensity to get high on my own supply, end up owing more than I earn," Connolly concluded.