Review: Boiling Point
If you know me, I’m a sucker for a good food show or movie. And truth be told there actually aren’t very many good ones. Which is why I was intrigued to hear about Boiling Point, an underappreciated British film that came out in 2022 and flew a bit under the radar. The movie is completely set in a restaurant and takes place during one pressure filled night of service.
Okay, so they have my curiosity but here’s what got my attention: the entire 90-minute film was done in a single take. No cuts, no do-overs, no mistaken lines, just one single long 90-minute shot of a busy Saturday night service where things go more wrong than right. The director’s goal was to capture the frenetic pace of a high-end kitchen, the communication and miscommunication between front and back of house, the full fix of broken plates, hand burns, and rush that nearly leads to a heart attack.
The film centres around Andy Jones the head chef and owner of Jones & Sons a high-end restaurant in London that’s trying to make it in a world where you’re one mistake away from being shut down. And while Andy (Stephen Graham) often shuffles and mismanages his way through the service, it’s his superstar Sous chef Carly (Vinette Robinson) that is keeping everything afloat, often taking the heat and the blame for Andy’s mistakes and shortcomings. It’s a night where things start well enough but quickly go off the rails as the staff deal with a marriage proposal at one table, a food critic at another, and a demanding celebrity chef that popped in for a bite. Things go from bad to worse when Andy makes a split decision to change a meal preparation on the fly leading to an allergic diner sent to the hospital.
And while the plot is simple enough, the film is enjoyed more for its one-shot technical prevalence (evidently, the director filmed the movie all the way through three times and chose the second take as the final film) than for its character development. Frankly, it’s just too difficult for the viewer to really get to know the cast when it feels like you’re watching them live for just one night. And while it didn’t get much critical acclaim, the film had such a cult following that the BBC commissioned a five-part mini-series sequel. This is the truly great part of this whole endeavor. The mini-series follows right where the film ends, and breathes a bit more life into the characters, their stories, and their life outside of the kitchen. And while, the BBC series isn’t done in one-shot, it keeps that riveting chaotic flow. I tend to think it’s a more grown-up, grittier version of The Bear with plenty of heavy subject matter, difficult themes, and lots of food. If you’re looking for a culinary show and you don’t mind some difficult scenes, and a bit of grim British sentiment, I would absolutely recommend watching the movie and then following that up with the series. You can find them both on Amazon Prime Video.
Here’s a trailer of the movie: