Burnt will probably be 2015’s most delicious movie. All the montages of gourmet dishes being prepped, plated and served will have audiences salivating. The melodramatic entrée they accompany tastes stale, like it’s been under a warming lamp for a few years.
Bradley Cooper is expectedly charming as Adam Jones, a hotshot chef who blew it all on drugs, booze and women. Now, after shucking one million oysters as penance, Jones has reappeared in London to get his third star from Michelin. But he’ll need the help of old friends he betrayed, like maître d’ Tony (Daniel Brühl), and new chefs he abuses, like pretty single mom Helene (Sienna Miller), to reach his goal.
TV producer John Wells again proves he has an eye for pretty pictures but needs some help from his screenwriting collaborators. Steven Knight is an Oscar nominee with intriguing films like Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises on his resume. Like Jones, Burnt works best in the arrogant, white-walled kitchens of high class dining; neither his initial failures nor his addictive foibles are terribly interesting. The cinematic dish could also have used a dash more Matthew Rhys (FX’s excellent “The Americans”) as Jones’ rival, Reece. Burnt is a well-appointed plate of high-quality ingredients that tastes rather bland.
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