Boiling Point

Summary

“This job is not worth it.”

The British drama Boiling Point has recently received a release on Blu-ray here in the states from Shoreline Entertainment. Boiling Point has been given high critical marks for its well realized vision of the pressures that folks face in the restaurant business. The film is also notable for having been filmed in one single take by director and co-writer Philip Barantini. Considering that I am in the restaurant business and have been for the better part of two decades, I was more than happy to check the film out. 

It is close to Christmas time in London. Chef Andy Jones (Stephen Graham) arrives at the fine dining restaurant of which he is part owner and head chef. He phones Kelly to apologize to her. He’s been living out of a suitcase for two months and he has accidentally missed his son’s birthday. As Andy arrives at the restaurant, the health inspector is grilling his employees. The inspector meets with Chef Jones and lets him know that he is giving him a sticker to hang in the window showing where his rate has gone from a five to a three. The inspector points out that his restaurant’s health documentation has fallen off in the last couple months. After that meeting ends, Chef finds out from his staff that they had to throw out the turbot because it was not properly labeled the night before… by the chef himself. In the pre-shift meeting, Chef finds out that his former boss and celebrity chef Alastair Skye (Jason Flemyng) will be attending. This is a big deal to Andy due to their history. Alastair has also brought with him a tough restaurant critic named Sara Southworth (Lourdes Faberes) without even giving Andy the courtesy of a call. This adds additional stress to the service. Andy’s performance of late has been scattered, and the restaurant has been held together by his sous chef Carly (Vinette Robinson.) Carly is due for a raise, especially since she is not enjoying her interactions with co-owner and front of house manager Beth (Alice Feetham.) Server Robin arrives forty minutes late due to an audition, and one of the dish men named Jake is very late to work. As the holiday crowd begins to fill the restaurant, the camera follows the multifaceted interactions between guests, front of house, and back of house as Andy attempts to push through a very chaotic evening.

If you want to know what it is really like to work in fine dining, this film nails it. While it is somewhat heightened for dramatic effect, it is not too far off. I have been in the restaurant business for nearly twenty years and I am involved in more than two dozen restaurants, so I know this world well. The heightened atmosphere – the stress of difficult customers and difficult situations – the mixture of personalities of staff – the perpetual lack of support when employees do not arrive or don’t arrive in time – the pressures of pleasing critics and foodies – the constant juggling on the fly of different stressors – all of these elements are explored well in the film. Co-writer and director Philip Barantini knows this world and it shows in the final product. The script co-written by James Cummings is convincingly rendered and allows exposition of each character as they work their way through a series of different crises that pop up over the course of the evening. By choosing to film the picture as a one-take film, (they filmed the entire picture over the course of two nights with only four takes before Covid shut them down) the picture truly realizes the atmosphere of a service in a fine dining restaurant. I had to look up articles to confirm that the picture was actually shot in one continuous take, because I had assumed that there were numerous digital takes that were strung together to form one take such as in the film Birdman. The fact that every performance and setup that occurs for an hour and a half was done right then and there, makes the achievement of Boiling Point all the more impressive. 

The actors are all up to the task with a terrific lead performance by Stephen Graham. He is exceptional in a role that forces him to truly seem in command of a fine dining kitchen while also struggling with his own demons. He is very believable for the duration of the picture and it is a great showcase for his talents as a leading man. The supporting cast are also very talented. Vinette Robinson is great as Andy’s trusted, but exhausted, sous chef. Alice Feetham plays the guest-pleasing but clueless Beth with a good amount of gravitas. Ray Pathaki is very relatable as the intense and fiery cook Freeman.

This is the best restaurant related film I have seen since Big Night (with the exception of the excellent dark comedy The Menu, which I loved.) While the finale of the picture felt somewhat abrupt, the writing is very strong. I would have enjoyed possibly a somewhat stronger finish to the film, but the ride that the film puts the audience on is a good one. This is not “feel good” entertainment. In fact, this film caused me tremendous anxiety. That said, fans of the show The Bear will find themselves right at home watching Boiling Point. Highly recommended.

Video

Boiling Point was shot on a Sony CineAlta Venice Rialto UHD camera on 6K digital film. The digital intermediate for the film on its theatrical release was 4K. Cinematographer Matthew Lewis and director Philip Barantini perform a minor miracle of shooting the entire picture in one take without the setting ever feeling false. Barantini had actually worked at the restaurant where they filmed and knew it well enough that he could stage it properly. It is an incredible achievement. The cinematography brings the best out of the restaurant setting. The Blu-ray presentation does a good job of representing the filmmaker’s intent, although it would be fun to see this film in its native 4K if a release ever materializes. I also made sure that I watched the film in natural mode because the dynamic mode caused some strange issues with blues, so I would recommend you do the same. It is also notable that this was printed on a BD-R so there might be a step down in quality from the recent Second Sight Blu-ray release in the UK.

Audio

Boiling Point arrives with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that works well at what it does. There is no score to the picture, choosing to focus on the real sounds of the dining room and kitchen. The 5.1 track does a solid job of immersing the viewer in that world. As one might guess, this is a dialogue centered affair and there is no “action” to speak of, so this won’t be anyone’s demo track, but the presentation is solid overall.

Supplements:

None

Overall Scores:

Video: 4

Audio: 4.5

Special Features: 0

Overall – 4.25/5

Boiling Point is one of the best made films about the stressors that people face in the restaurant industry. Aside from the fantastic dark comedy The Menu, this is my favorite restaurant centered film since Stanley Tucci’s Big Night. The cast of the film is fantastic and Stephen Graham is brilliant in the picture. Director Philip Barantini, working from a script he penned with James Cummings, managed to get the entire film in the can in one take. There are no digital transitions or trickery, just extremely well rehearsed actions performed by a talented group of actors with excellent coordination by the cinematographer and crew. Shoreline Entertainment’s release is a good way to experience the film, although the lack of special features is a shame. I also can not confirm whether the transfer presented on a BD-R looks as sharp as Second Sight’s limited edition Blu-ray of the release from the UK. All said and considered, Boiling Point is definitely worth checking out. Recommended!

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.