Boiling Point (2021)

The most excruciating film of 2021, Philip Barantini’s one take restaurant drama deserves all the plaudits it’s getting. Stephen Graham plays the head chef of a London restaurant, a man who’s struggling with personal problems that have begun to affect his work. Assisted by an excellent supporting cast, the film is one shot, for ninety odd minutes, meaning the trials and tribulations as the restaurant opens are all in real time. The stress of working in such a high pressure environment are portrayed brilliantly, beginning with a surprise visit from health and safety officer, and going downhill from there. I felt utter hatred for many of the customers, including a racist father of a family, and a truly deplorable quartet of ‘lads’, who after being told that steak and chips aren’t on the menu, threaten to post bad reviews on instagram, (a social format that holds far too much sway in real life in this sort of industry) whilst filming the staff without any sort of permission. For such a high-class establishment, there is a lot of sub human scum in attendance; but the point being that this is what restaurant staff have to put up with on a daily basis. It’s no wonder Graham’s Andy feels the strain at work as well as out of it. It’s not just the customers at fault though; one or two slackers in the kitchen add to the drama, making it more difficult for those trying their hardest to produce their best. Boiling Point is gripping and grueling, and although you can read one or two plot contrivances in advance towards the end, for the most part this is a highly impressive experiment that throws you right into the vortex of a working high class restaurant in the countries capital. 8.4/10