Burned by Burnt

Note: We also have a review by one of the winners of our Burnt ticket giveaway, who, it turns out, is a chef. We welcomed her opinion and perspective.

Tracing the arc of a man’s life from youthful confidence to arrogance and the fall from grace, then a search for redemption, is no easy task.

Burnt strives for this, and goes through the mechanics, but falls a bit short. It’s the details of the movie that are unconvincing. Bradley Cooper, a supremely talented actor, is not quite convincing as a lifelong chef. He’s too pretty and clean; he tries to be raw, but it does not quite work. Compared to Jon Favreau in the movie Chef. The camera lingers all too long on his beautiful face, instead of his work or the space and people around him.

Strangely, despite all the talk about a glorious and disastrous past life in Paris, there are no flashback scenes. Although not mandatory for good story telling, it would have helped convince and as a visual medium, movies can do that successfully.

London shines spectacularly as does the food. Oh, the food…

The film has no sex scenes and just a couple of mediocre kissing scenes, yet constantly flirts with eroticism… The orgy of food photos approaches fetishism. Uma Thurman’s first nibbles of her dish followed by gasps of ecstasy from her bright cherry red lipsticked lips suggests the erotic powers of a good meal. (Too bad she is only allowed a bit part – she clearly had more to offer!) Homoeroticism abounds between the chefs who once ruled Paris’s dining scene. Strangely, given all the erotic morsels and despite the R rating, there is not enough authentic passion in the film. The “boy meets girl” storyline seems forced and not real.

Food as art, not mere sustenance, and the dysfunctional culture around it formed by the brainchild chefs that create it, is a fascinating world. But is not adequately explored here. Perhaps another movie can take off where this left us?

Most disappointing is the nicey-nice, neat, “everyone lives happily ever after” ending. It was an unfortunate, simplistic ending that, quite honestly, Bradley’s character didn’t deserve and had not earned.

Burnt is not a terrible film, and at times is glorious to watch. But it leaves you hungry for more.

Burnt opens October 30. For some good food porn, and cooking inspiration, be sure to visit the Recipes section of the movie’s website