Directed and co-written by Philip Barantini, Boiling Point is Hell's Kitchen on steroids as one restaurant owner & head chef, Andy experiences the most unexpected night of service of his career in this eclectic - yet raw and unbelievably engrossing & unflinching drama, thanks to the engaging characters and stimulative direction.
Andy arrives one evening on a busy shift, sleepless and fraught and discovers his ex-boss & celebrity chef, Alistair has booked a table at his eatery. As the customers fill up and orders pile up, tensions run high, or be it higher as disagreements, staff fallouts and clashes, an unexpected visit from a health inspector and bickering threaten to ruin the entire night; all that, plus Andy has difficulty maintaining his composure as he tries to hide his drug addiction and extramarital woes.
The film manages to keep the dramatics going for 90 minutes in a single take, thus serving to highlight the challenges and difficulties people who work in the service industry in real-life do encounter themselves in understaffing issues, unexpected inspection visits and easily irate customers.
Henceforth, anyone who has ever worked in McDonald's', KFC, or any type of restaurant or eatery can easily relate to the characters and problems that can arise in a highly pressurized working environment. Whereby mental and emotional stress can take a substantial toll on people. Working in the food court at Costco myself, Boiling Point resonates and speaks to me on so many levels many of the points it makes ring true. You have your good days and bad days, at one-minute things are going well, the next they are not; it can feel like (dis)organised chaos, and in contrast to working in retail or any other department where you might be working independently, with this one, working relationships, in addition to personal relationships are as dysfunctional and put to the test. People with varying personalities, some of whom you don't see eye to eye with have to pull together and help each other out as a team to provide a quality customer service. Boiling Point nails this part and the hospitality aspect realistically, when another similar type of movie of this theme might struggle to do so.
There have been a few movies like Chef but Boiling Point is something else and is on an entirely different level, which also deserves extra credit for boldly, fearlessly and candidly illustrating the pitfalls and highs of working in the catering industry with passion and weight. I was awaiting a film with a subject matter and theme such as this that not only highlighted such issues but also spoke for me and millions of other people who do this or have done this type of work in their field. In discovering there was a movie titled Boiling Point and one made in Britain, immediately it piqued my curiosity.
Stephen Graham, who was in the Elton John biopic, Rocket Man, creates an intimate experience on working in what is a cutthroat business: and an industry that is far from revered by many (& is to this day seeing high staff turnover) as workers manage to stay strong, motivated and composed under such immense strain. The performances themselves and across the board are terrific and so naturalistic, the camerawork drifts in different directions and focuses on lesser and smaller characters, as well as the main one, Andy and the script, Stephen Graham's turn and the food theme will draw in audiences.
An astutely produced effort, Boiling Point sees chefs on the brink of breaking point, whilst it faithfully depicts the scenes and drama occurring behind the counter when the customers are out of view, and the one-shot approach works; it makes it unrelentingly recognisable, as well as relatable right from the bat: from the so-called self-entitled customers, in the passionate, highly demanding and not so empathetic bosses to the hard-working chefs, dishwashers who are belittled for their efforts by some of their peers. You feel as you watch this you are in the film itself, picturing yourself as a paying customer or as one of Andy's cooks and immersing yourself amid all the chaos and drama; talk about fine dining when working in a hectic, fast-paced restaurant, the day is anything, but fine.
Final Verdict:
Some may argue it could have been less bleak, but personally, the level of bleakness that is conveyed was fitting.
With the night fully imploding in front of Andy's, the staff and the audiences' eyes, it alone makes Boiling Point one of the must-see compelling films, & moreover dramas of & from 2022.
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