The Kitchen – A Fight for Survival from the London Residents
Director: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Writer: Daniel Kaluuya, Joe Murtagh (Screenplay)
Cast
- Kano (Top Boy)
- Jedaiah Bannerman
- Hope Ikpoku Jnr
- Henry Lawfull (A Boy Called Christmas)
- Reuben Nyamah
Plot: In a dystopian future London where all social housing has been eliminated, Izi and Benji fight to navigate the world as residents of The Kitchen, a community that refuses to abandon their home.
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Kitchen starts as we meet Izi (Kano) who lives in a dystopian London. He keeps to himself and works at a funeral home giving people a better afterlife. At one of the latest funerals, Izi sees a young teenager Benji (Bannerman) left with nobody. Benji has nobody and finds himself hanging out with a troublemaking gang led by Staples (Ikpoku Jnr).
However, Izi ends up bumping into Benji and reluctantly taking him under his wing. He teaches him about being alone in this neighbourhood, while his own time there is coming to an end.
Verdict on The Kitchen
The Kitchen is a sci-fi drama following a neighbourhood pushed to its limits by raids. However, one man has been trying to maintain a simple life, until he befriends another young teenager left alone in the world. it leaves him with a choice to save himself or both of them before they are forced out.
This is a movie looking to show the divide between rich and poor reaching a new breaking point. However, it never creates a big enough divide or shows what has caused this to happen. For the most part, it looks to focus on one neighbourhood trying to survive. While not putting enough of a highlight on the life expected of the residents of London. There are the typical gangs leading the innocent astray storyline. However, it points out there are no other options for some characters. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to give us enough of a scary future and feels like the divide witnessed in London already.
Where to Watch: The Kitchen is available on Netflix now.
Final Thoughts – The Kitchen is slow and reflective more than anything else.
