BURNT - review

BURNT
Director: John Wells
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl, Omar Sy, Riccardo Scamarcio, Matthew Rhys

Synopsis: Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) is a chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behaviour. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself but spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars. 

I had heard that this was the most authentic kitchen movie that had been seen for a while, from a friend who is a chef. I had also heard that the film was "intense" from some random cinema patrons who overheard me picking up my tickets. These were two of the better comments I'd heard about the film. Critics have been panning this film, calling it a "kitchen nightmare" along with all manner of other ridiculous food metaphors. I went in with an average expectation of what the film might be, but high hopes of what I would see from such a strong cast.

Off I went on Friday night, way past my bedtime, just hoping that the film would be enough to keep me awake as I settled in with a half full cinema (not a great sign on opening weekend) to see Cooper take on the role of a determined man with everything and nothing to lose. Adam Jones calls in every favour that he has, which is almost none and sweet talks himself into revamping a top restaurant in London to get his third Michelin star. He has burned almost all of his bridges over the years, by being a drug addicted, hot headed diva with all the talent and none of the self-control. Claiming he got everything he ever wanted too early and didn't know how to handle it, he's cleaned up his act and is back with a vengance. He wants nothing more than to get his third star and he will need to best of the best to help him get it.

Bradley Cooper as Adam Jones

image via The Weinstein Company

He recruits some old friends from his Paris days, a young upstart with a spare room and a talented chef (who he gets fired from her current position). The competition is fierce, his past is laden with drama that is chasing him down (and by drama I mean a drug lord who he owes a shit-ton of money to), it was really out of the frying pan and into the fire for this chef. There's also the guy whose life Jones' ruined and so is now repaying the favour, and the girl who love-hates him and the guy who just plain loves him. Unfortunately for Cooper and the rest of the cast, this film only scratches the surface of what could have been a truly dramatic masterpiece. The scenes in the kitchen are some of the most realistic scenes I've seen in a kitchen movie, including all of the food wastage.

Omar Sy and Sienna Miller - making magic in the kitchen

image via The Weinstein Company

Credit where credit is due, the cast truly were fantastic in this film, they really showed depth of character particulalry given that they were all given something deeper and yet never really had the chance to explore it for us. I think that's what I found the most disappointing about this film, there was so much more there and the tiny glimpses you got were enough to make me sad that I wasn't seeing any further into these people's lives. Don't get me wrong, I totally get that you can't go into everything in a film or we'd be there forever, and BURNT was already close to two hours in length, BUT, if you're not going to let me eat the whole damn dish, don't let me taste it, it'll only make me mad.

There's plenty to like about BURNT and if you can get past the lack of depth that is shown in this film, then I think you might really enjoy it. Sadly I don't think it's going to go that well at the box office, so if you do want to see it I would get in quick, I think it will have a relatively short run. If you're a Bradley Cooper fan, or you just like kitchen dramas then sure, it could be worth paying 20-something dollars for, but I'm not conviced it was worth it.

xoxo
The Blonde Bombshell