Review of Burnt (2015) by Orlando O — 30 Jan 2016

Burnt is a fair drama about a chef who has once lost everything due to an addiction is now trying to redeem himself by getting everyone back together. The direction tries to be a dramatic character piece, a conceited, obsessed chef who had a popular restaurant and nearly lost everything, and cost everyone their careers.

His drug addiction also took over, so he left Paris while everyone assumed he was dead. Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) returns to London, seeking aid from his mentor son Tony (Daniel Bruhl) who owns a restaurant in a hotel to help recreate his business to regain the third Michelin star.

He enlists Helene (Sienna Miller), a single mother, and from the help of his psychiatrist Dr. Rosshide (Emma Thompson) that performs a weekly drug test check, to help keep his mind clear, all while he attracts former drug dealers that he owes money too.

The film has it set for a decent drama, as Adam Jones is obsessed with making the perfect dish, as we see him throwing dishes, snapping at his cooks, and closely examine and tasting for the perfect receipt.

His character is complex with his behavior and somewhat unlikable which is how the script made him out to be. The script is lacking in developing these characters and giving them more depth within each other.

Adam Jones being helped by his mentors son Tony, his rivalry chef Reece (Matthew Rhys), Helene, Dr. Rosshide, and his ex Anne (Alicia Vikander). All these characters, he interacts with are so brief moments, and the interaction is slacking on building these characters.

The film does have a big cast ensemble, and there are some talented actors/actresses in which their talents are wasted when there characters are underused in the movie. Uma Thurman plays the food critic, she only has one brief scene in the film, and Alicia Vikander also had a small role, which felt, like a waste of a good talent.

Lily James has a quick appearance in the film, playing a character that is useless to the story progression. Overall, it is one of those films that is suppose to have a meaningful purpose in this character study as an obsessed compulsive chef learns to work with others as a team.

The characters were not developed enough to support that.