MOVIE OF THE WEEK (10/30/15): BURNT
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| "Girl, put this in your mouth and love it – it's just my food!" Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) discusses life in and out of the kitchen with talented apprentice Helene (Sienna Miller) in a scene from director John Wells food-based drama about the pursuit of culinary perfection in BURNT. © 2015 The Weinstein Co. All rights reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Sam Keely, Riccardo Scamarcio, Alicia Vikander, Lexi Benbow-Hart and Matthew Rhys with Emma Thompson and Uma Thurman
WRITER(S): Steven Knight
DIRECTOR(S): John Wells
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) was once a star in the European restaurant scene, taking Paris by storm after rising under a star chef after moving across the Atlantic Ocean as a teenager. But then, his demons – drugs, women and alcohol – led to him crashing and burning just about every relationship and his reputation in the process.
Fast forward to the future and now Adam is 2 years sober and back on the scene in London looking to achieve his career goal: Opening a restaurant worthy of the esteemed Michelin Restaurant Guide 3-star rating. That's why he's looking up all his old co-horts like Tony (Daniel Brühl), a maitre'd turned restauranteur of his own, Michel (Omar Sy), despite having burned him when he opened his own restaurant in Paris, the-soon-to-be-released-from-prison Max (Riccardo Scamarcio) and up-and-coming talent like David (Sam Keely). He's going to need them all to take on key rivals like Reece (Matthew Rhys) ... Tony is willing to take a chance on him, but not without sending him to get weekly drug screenings by Dr. Rosshilde (Emma Thompson) to make sure he's toeing the company line.
But it's not until he meets Helene (Sienna Miller) that Adam may have met someone who is not only his equal in the kitchen, but in life as well ...
Fast forward to the future and now Adam is 2 years sober and back on the scene in London looking to achieve his career goal: Opening a restaurant worthy of the esteemed Michelin Restaurant Guide 3-star rating. That's why he's looking up all his old co-horts like Tony (Daniel Brühl), a maitre'd turned restauranteur of his own, Michel (Omar Sy), despite having burned him when he opened his own restaurant in Paris, the-soon-to-be-released-from-prison Max (Riccardo Scamarcio) and up-and-coming talent like David (Sam Keely). He's going to need them all to take on key rivals like Reece (Matthew Rhys) ... Tony is willing to take a chance on him, but not without sending him to get weekly drug screenings by Dr. Rosshilde (Emma Thompson) to make sure he's toeing the company line.
But it's not until he meets Helene (Sienna Miller) that Adam may have met someone who is not only his equal in the kitchen, but in life as well ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People who have a passion for cooking; Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller fans; people who enjoy British women's couture; chefs who have worked – – but don't long for a return – to kitchens such as the ones featured in Burnt
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who hate when romantic subplots are inserted into films that don't really need them to enhance the movie; those who hate high stress work environments; anyone who's lost a relationship to a workaholic/person with a creative obsession
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? Save for a romantic subplot that almost cheapens things, Burnt is a solid film that explores how someone's passion and the pursuit of perfection can affect every avenue of their life. That pursuit would not be worth watching, however, without solid performances by Cooper and company to capture the essence of how something so simple – food – is so serious to so many around the world.
Cooper delivers another solid, well-rounded performance that captures not only the "go-go-go" madness of men like co-executive producer Gordon Ramsay, but the need for such high octane precision and more importantly why someone could obsess over food without the facade of reality TV. Cooper – and Miller along with him – painstakingly relates the way in which being a chef is akin to being an artist, with the kitchen as their canvas and the public's clamoring for their food as the crowning achievement. When Cooper's character says something to the effect of people wanting to eat his creations but going to the extreme that they have a longing for it, he means it and director Steven Knight miss no detail in showing why that is. Miller does a great job at being a muse for Cooper to play off, which brings the story full circle in the-burned-out-former-apprentice-finding-inspiration-in-a-new-talented-one-that-teaches-him-a-thing-or-two-about-his-profession-and-life kind of way. Brühl and Rhys are equally great providing comic relief as Cooper's main admirer/co-worker and rival, respectively, each adding a flavorful (no pun intended) element to the story and the audience's enjoyment of it.
While Knight does a good job at the overall development of Burnt's story, there a few elements that are either under-developed or included unnecessarily. The romantic subplot feels added in for the sake of a romantic subplot while exploring the situation between Cooper and Alicia Vikander as his ex who was with him during his junkie times could have been explored to add a deeper element to his character's personal life. It's not that the situation detract from the overall enjoyment of Burnt; it's just that it would be a full four course meal instead of just one that you enjoyed with friends.
Cooper delivers another solid, well-rounded performance that captures not only the "go-go-go" madness of men like co-executive producer Gordon Ramsay, but the need for such high octane precision and more importantly why someone could obsess over food without the facade of reality TV. Cooper – and Miller along with him – painstakingly relates the way in which being a chef is akin to being an artist, with the kitchen as their canvas and the public's clamoring for their food as the crowning achievement. When Cooper's character says something to the effect of people wanting to eat his creations but going to the extreme that they have a longing for it, he means it and director Steven Knight miss no detail in showing why that is. Miller does a great job at being a muse for Cooper to play off, which brings the story full circle in the-burned-out-former-apprentice-finding-inspiration-in-a-new-talented-one-that-teaches-him-a-thing-or-two-about-his-profession-and-life kind of way. Brühl and Rhys are equally great providing comic relief as Cooper's main admirer/co-worker and rival, respectively, each adding a flavorful (no pun intended) element to the story and the audience's enjoyment of it.
While Knight does a good job at the overall development of Burnt's story, there a few elements that are either under-developed or included unnecessarily. The romantic subplot feels added in for the sake of a romantic subplot while exploring the situation between Cooper and Alicia Vikander as his ex who was with him during his junkie times could have been explored to add a deeper element to his character's personal life. It's not that the situation detract from the overall enjoyment of Burnt; it's just that it would be a full four course meal instead of just one that you enjoyed with friends.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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