Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Bruhl, Ricardo Scamarcio, Omar Sy, Sarn Keeley, Henri Goodman, Matthew Rhys, Stephen Campbell Moore, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, Lexi Benbow-Hart, Alicia Vikander, Lily James.
Like films about sporting events, it can be hard to catch a piece of art when confining it to the kitchen, when allowing the furnace like quality, the cauldron of temper to infiltrate celluloid, for like an orchestra, every interpretation of the moves and subtle dance within a restaurant kitchen is open up for debate and explanation.
Burnt offers arguably more than most, it sits within a realm in which jealousy, redemption and rage combine to give a truly insightful look at how a Michelin endorsed restaurant can be seen to work in all its dysfunctional and straggled orchestra explosions.
It is a film that is not without its flaws and yet it sweeps over them with a quiet ease and the cinema goer forgives the lack of consistency as flair is allowed to breathe. In Sienna Miller especially this is a film that really captures her for the actor she is, one of patient guile and the firm hard to keep Bradley Cooper from spilling over into a mesmeric all smiling hero. Alongside the ever impressive Omar Sy and Daniel Bruhl gaining yet more respect for his ability to portray with elegance a certain type of static emotion, the cast is well placed to endure the obvious heat that will come their way over time.
Stand out though amongst the cast is Matthew Rhys as Reece, a fellow Michelin endorsed chef to whom hatred is a very simmering emotion and yet to whom espouses the truth of working in any type of kitchen, that the need to be creative is not confined to the arts, the talent in working in a heated environment and yet displaying maniacal cool in front of patrons is indeed a special art in itself and Matthew Rhys frames that gloriously.
A very good film in which to indulge yourself, occasionally fattening, sometimes a bit weak in its presentation but nonetheless still a feast for the senses, Burnt sizzles, it even spoils on occasion but it doesn’t disappointment overall; a good film, a good cast perfectly served.
Ian D. Hall