Netflix And Chill: Boiling Point (2021)

Let's get the negative out of the way first. I can see why some people might really dislike Boiling Point. I can see why they might get bored by it, and view it as a film in which "nothing happens". If you're after some standard entertainment then this may not be your first choice. I don't think this review will change your mind on it. Having said that, I LOVED this film. Technically impressive, full of actors doing flawless work, Boiling Point will also resonate strongly with anyone who has ever worked in a busy restaurant/service environment.

Stephen Graham plays Andy Jones, the head chef in a restaurant that is about to have its busiest night of the year. That would be tough going at the best of times, but Andy isn't having the best of times. He has recently separated from his partner, his mind isn't where it should be, and the only reason the restaurant has been doing as well as it has for the past few weeks is down to his second-in-command, Carly (Vinette Robinson). The front of house manager, Beth (Alice Feetham), doesn't really know enough to do her job properly, tensions soon start to rise in the kitchen, especially as Freeman (Ray Panthaki) is ready to call Andy out on his conduct, and various customers provide various problems, from general rudeness to a nut allergy. To make matters worse, a celebrity chef Andy used to work for, Alastair Skye (Jason Flemyng), is in to dine. And he's brought along a famous food critic, Sara Southworth (Lourdes Faberes).

Expanding a 2019 short, that version clocked in at about 22 minutes, Boiling Point is notable for being shot in one take, with a good chunk of the dialogue improvised around certain plot points that had to be hit at certain times. It's not the easiest way to approach a movie, but director Philip Barantini, who also co-wrote the script with James Cummings, helps himself immensely by using some of the best actors he could have hired. Say what you like about the film itself, if you can point to one weak performance here then I'll buy a hat, wear it for a week, and then eat it. The camerawork here is smooth enough to avoid any eye pain, but also constantly moving and taking viewers right into the heart of every important interaction that shows how the evening is going for various people.

Graham, already praised for years now as one of the best British actors of his generation, shows once again that he's one of the best British actors of his generation. He IS the head chef here, even if he's also ready to fall apart. The big surprise here is that everyone around him also feels as if they have genuinely just been caught on camera getting through a busy restaurant shift. Robinson conveys concern, support, strength, and anger in a perfect mix for the character she plays, Panthaki is spot on as the reliable chef who can easily keep doing his part to keep things running smoothly, but also isn't close enough to the head chef to overlook a series of frustrating errors. Feetham, as unlikable as her character is for most of the movie, is also VERY good in her role, the manager/hostess who will frustratingly side with the customer on every issue, and who likes to make every problem one that is caused by the kitchen, rather than maybe a front of house error. And then we have Flemyng, being a brilliantly smiling "snake in the grass" to our main character. It feels unfair to not mention everyone - Hannah Walters, Taz Skylar, Malachi Kirby, Izuka Hoyle, Lauryn Ajufo, Daniel Larkai, Áine Rose Daly, Gary Lamont, the aforementioned Faberes - so that list of names will have to suffice as acknowledgement for their consistently superb work.

What really sets this apart though, aside from the performances, is the recognition in almost every main moment. The arguments between the chefs and the front of house staff/manager, the bar staff always seeming to have the most fun, the table that can be perfectly pleasant to one waitress and utter horrors to another (for a variety of reasons, although the one here makes the head of the table particularly repugnant), the biggest douchebags who want to order off-menu, and the biggest of the biggest douchebags ordering his steak very well done, the list goes on and on. Seeing these things onscreen is like seeing a movie set in a busy bar that has someone ordering a busy round and asking for their pint of Guinness last (yes, my fellow bartenders know what I mean, those people are loathed). 

Boiling Point isn't just an enjoyable, and sometimes tense, drama. It's a highly accurate snapshot of restaurant life. I wish, but highly doubt, that everyone would watch this, and remember it the next time they are dining out. You still deserve the service and quality of food that you pay for, but it helps to remember that you are interacting with real human beings, all doing their job for a variety of reasons, and all often trying their best under difficult circumstances.

9/10

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Mubi Monday: Colette (2018)

It seems that I am behind the times when it comes to Keira Knightley, having placed her in the "I tend to enjoy her but she's usually not that good REALLY" category some years ago. This may have all been because of the long shadow cast by her horrible turn in Domino, or maybe I just have such a bad memory that I forgot every time I'd actually praised her work while somehow remembering . . . that horrible turn in Domino. Look, it's basically all the fault of Domino. As long as that's clear, let's move on.

Anyway, let's get to Colette, a film in which Knightley plays the title role. She is a country girl when the film begins, until she moves to Paris with her husband-to-be (Dominic West). And this begins a series of fortunate and unfortunate events that eventually lead to Colette developing into the famous and celebrated writer that she remains to this day. Sadly, her writing is all published under her husband's name, because that was more appropriate for the time and he had a brand to sell. Colette causes quite the stir throughout France, and starts to enjoy it even more, especially as she begins to explore her sexuality. As society seems to work ever harder to restrict her and keep her "in her place", Colette finds more ways to ruffle feathers and ensure she cannot be ignored or silenced.

Many people have already commented on Colette being a film that feels incredibly timely right now (the battle for sexual equality rages on and men still seem to have the position of having value to their names that women rarely get) and it is. It's an interesting, passionate, film that condemns the treatment of the leading lady, and also the treatment of many others. But that isn't the only thing that Colette is putting under a magnifying glass. As Knightley and West play out their complicated love/hate relationship throughout the film, it's equally an interesting study of the way in which people choose to believe various fictions, be they myths about the differences in gender, the power of artistic creations, or choosing to hope that a horrible and abusive relationship is anything other than that.

Director Wash Westmoreland, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Richard Glatzer and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, sets everything out in a traditional way, picking out the most important moments from a life that must have had many highlights to choose from. The score may be a bit generic, for this kind of thing (in my view), but the camerawork is given one or two moments to shine, such as the sequence that allows it to glide through a crowded room alongside Colette as she takes in the various displays of excess and "sophistication".

Although the script is a good one, and there are a couple of brilliant speeches that Knightley must have read on the page with sheer delight at the prospect of getting to deliver them, it's the cast who raise everything up. In case you were in any doubt, Knightley is excellent. Really excellent. This may be the best performance she has given in her career so far, relishing a role that allows her to be strong, sharp, funny, eloquent, sexual, and generally downright inspiring. She's equalled by West, who manages to do so well in his role that it's only much later in the film that you realise just how shitty he has been to his wife for so much of their marriage. Neither speak French, or attempt an accent, despite the nationality of their characters, and nor do many of the other cast members, which is a decision made for the better. The environment is enough to remind you of where everyone is living, and the writing (the heart of the film) is shown to be in French, as it obviously would be, while characters sometimes read out the prose in English. Other important characters are played by Denise Gough, Eleanor Tomlinson, Julian Wadham, Al Weaver, and Ray Panthaki, and everyone fits well in the role they're given (although both Gough and Tomlinson ARE given certain specific accents, with the former faring much better than the latter).

Oozing quality from every frame, Colette is superior drama, bringing a slice of history to life and exploring some issues that resonate just as much today as they did back at the end of the 19th century. Despite the pretty, perhaps what some may even call quaint, packaging, it manages to make things more palatable to observe and mull over without ever feeling as if it has held so much back that it warps the reality that it is all based on.

8/10

The disc will be available here.
Americans may want to order here.