Everyone’s talking about The Bear, the Hulu (US)/Disney+ (UK) dramedy series about a chef. I haven’t seen it yet — it’s on my watchlist — but I suspect that if you like that show, you’ll probably enjoy the 2021 film Boiling Point. Although perhaps enjoy is the wrong word for this electrifying work of high-wire cinematic theater, a one-take, one-location wonder in which Stephen Graham has a glorious uncut 90-minute meltdown as the head chef and part owner at a trendy restaurant in hip east London.
It really was shot in one-go — there are no hidden edits — and surely “benefitted” from the external pressure of the production’s rush to get the footage in the can before March 2020’s pandemic lockdown shuttered filming (and everything else) in London. It’s one of the best films of 2021, and after it, you will never look at a meal out quite the same way again. (Read my 2021 review.)
US: stream on Kanopy; rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
UK: stream on Netflix (through September 22nd); rent on BFI Player and Curzon Home Cinema; rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
See Boiling Point at Letterboxd for more viewing options.
