Chef (May 8) - Favreau's workaholic pro chef Carl Casper revives his passion and
gets back to cooking real inspired food again while on the road from
Miami to L.A with his best friend and estranged son in a newly-acquired
(and miraculously made-over) Cuban cuisine-inspired food truck named El
Jefe Cubanos. It will prove to be his vessel to redemption. When he walks out from his job as head chef of a sleek but tired L.A
restaurant, and makes a meal of a public social media-fueled rivalry
with influential food critic, he returns to his origins in Miami,
re-acquainting with his ex-wife, a successful event planner, and his
tech-wiz of a ten-year-old son, along the way.
It is the montage-y cross-country road trip where Favreau's film
livens up, but as pleasant and enjoyable as Carl’s turnaround is, and as
delectable as his food looks, it all runs longer than necessary. He
also overdoes the trendy multimedia foundations that add timely
relevance, while glazing up its tropes just enough.
I enjoyed the soundtrack of instrumentals from hip hop classics and
the brief Gary Clark Jr. show and the montages of food prep will make
your stomach grumble. Leguizamo, as usual, is a blast but some of the
cast (Johansson, Cannavale, RDJ) is under/oddly used. Favreau is likable
and his professional crisis is convincing. Even without the failing
single dad turnaround it would have been satisfying enough to see him
find a means to once again live out his passion for cooking; which we
learn is a daily requirement to fuel his happiness.
A couple of things: I didn't buy that Dustin Hoffman's jerk
restaurant owner would impose such limitations on his clearly-talented
chef, especially when the critic who roasted his restaurant the night
before is coming in 'again' with the expectations of experiencing a
different menu. Also, if that review was so bad why was the place busier
than ever on that night? Also, you have to question the casting of some
of the most beautiful women in the world (Sofia Vergara and Scarlett
Johansson) as Favreau’s ex-wife and love interest. There are a few
things in the script that let it down, but it's a sweet film that has a
lot of heart. ★★★
Released on May 15 are two foreign language dramas that I viewed at last year's Sydney Film Festival.
Child's Pose - In the 2013 Golden Bear winner the lives of an estranged mother and son
collide after an incident, resulting in a fascinating study of family,
class and justice in Romanian society. Talky but engaging, and quietly
suspenseful, and like other modern dramas from the burgeoning national
industry, there is no clear line between the construct of the narrative
and natural events. Excellent hand-held photography (the lengthy takes
are especially impressive) and exquisite performances. ★★★1/2
The Broken Circle Breakdown - "I want you to cry dammit!" Any affecting drama in the Best Foreign Language Film
Oscar nominee is undone by a maddening final act that is clearly blind
to its gross overreach, genre pitfalls and strays into blatant emotional
manipulation. Still, it does hit hard at times with achingly sad and
traumatic situations that draw sympathy towards the central couple, who
are dealing with a life-changing diagnosis and forced to cope with their
young daughter's terminal illness. This is complemented by a pair of
beautiful performances (Baetens and Cattrysse), and neat bluegrass
soundtrack.
Following one particular tragic turn it becomes an overload
of melodrama, introducing a preachy pro-life/stem cell debate to make
matters worse, and erratically incorporating its sketched themes into
the sad sequence of events. A shame. While members of the Sydney Film Festival audience were reaching for
their tissues, I was left bewildered and frustrated. It has continued to leave a bitter taste, especially
as it gathered awards buzz. Having said that, I remember enjoying Groeningen's use of the
non-linear storytelling, while the music and most of the film's first half
is wonderful. ★★★