Film Review

Boiling Point (2021)

A chef’s chaotic personal life creates increasingly serious problems for staff and customers at his restaurant

So much of the flavour in Philip Barantini’s second feature comes from his superb ensemble cast that the high drama with which he garnishes Boiling Point seems barely necessary. This portrayal of one night in a London restaurant kitchen — feeling impressionistic at first, but in fact, tightly plotted — would be equally successful if it only depicted the typical workday spats and shouting matches and moments of tenderness among the staff, without resorting to life-and-death tension.

Still, although a moment involving a customer’s nut allergy is signposted with such an obvious Chekhov’s Gun that the audience spends the next few scenes playing spot-the-nut, the more sensational aspects of the film do nothing to detract from its credible atmosphere or the thoroughly engaging characters, who are all flawed but portrayed with empathy. (Well, perhaps not all of them, as there’s not a lot of understanding shown toward the difficult customer who seems to enjoy patronising a young waitress, or the…