Burnt (2015)

The elite world of fine dining takes centre stage in John Well’s intense culinary drama. The film takes audiences on an adventure through the high-stakes world of fine dining while following Adam Jones, an explosive chef similar to real-life chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White. Bradley Cooper takes on the role of Jones, leading an impressive cast which includes Daniel Brühl, Sienna Miller, and Matthew Rhys.

“Burnt” follows Adam Jones (Cooper), a disgraced chef who attempts to save his career after volatile behaviour and drug use destroyed it. After a self-imposed exile in New Orleans, Adam heads to London on a mission to get back to the life he had before his bad habits took hold. Now in London, Adam reunites with old colleagues, including Tony Balerdi (Daniel Brühl), who manages his Family’s hotel, The Langham. Adam becomes the head chef at the hotel after saving it from a damning review after he invites a critic to eat at the restaurant. While his new position comes with some contingencies, like weekly drug tests with Tony’s psychiatrist, it sets Adam off on a path to revive his career and return to his former glory. However, will his past, and self-destructive behaviour, catch up with him before he can get that magical third Michelin star? Or will he beat the odds and rebuild his once accomplished career?

The film is led by convincing performances given by a cast that work with each other to immerse audiences into the world of “Burnt”. Bradley Cooper delivers a compelling performance that allows you to see how Adam Jones changes as a man throughout the film. His performance keeps you invested, and makes you want to see if a man, as self-destructive as he is, can make the necessary changes, and get the redemption he so craves. The instability of a character like Adam Jones pairs surprisingly well with a character like Tony Balerdi, who is comfortable in his position as Maître d'hôtel of The Langham and doesn’t have demons from his past catching up with him like Adam does. Daniel Brühl gives a strong performance opposite Cooper, the Spanish-German actor’s performance compliments Adam Jones’ fiery and head-strong personality and makes for a satisfying viewing experience. Sienna Miller delivers a great performance as sous-chef Helene, doing the most she can with a patchy character that would have benefitted from a more padded out backstory. If the issues with her character weren’t enough to draw you away, the very unnecessary and frankly out-of-place relationship (if you can even call it that) she has with Adam definitely will.

“Burnt” does benefit from the solid direction from “August: Osage County” director John Wells. His work manages to capture the emotion and intensity of the high-stakes world on show in the film, while also commanding each of the bold performances with ease. However, Wells’ work in the director’s chair cannot salvage the scrappy worldbuilding and character development. This myriad of underdeveloped plot points ends up distracting the audience and spoiling what could’ve been a stellar film set in the cooking world. Adriano Goldman, known for his Emmy-winning work on “The Crown” and Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “Sin Nombre”, provides “Burnt” with sleek, delectable cinematography that manages to insert the audience into the intensity of scenes, and showcases the plethora of delicious dishes on show throughout the film.

Akin to films like “The Menu” and “Boiling Point”, John Well’s 2015 culinary drama ends up being one of the better films about food and the opulent world of fine dining, but that doesn’t mean the film escapes scot-free. With strong direction, combined with the convincing performances given by the cast, solidify “Burnt” as a strong culinary drama, but it can’t escape the storytelling issues that are glaringly obvious. The film gives the audience an insight into how the world of fine dining operates, and the ferocity that people in the industry face everyday.