I’ve always loved a British kitchen sink drama. For me they beat the extravagant, supernatural epics littered with computer-generated imagery hands-down. So, given my predilection for this genre, Boiling Point was bound to appeal, especially as its star is super-talented Stephen Graham – an ideal ‘angry (not so) young man’.
‘It’s filmed in one-shot,’ said my husband excitedly as we made our way to our local sea-front cinema.
‘Oh, OK, great’, I replied, not quite recognising this as an incredible feat of film production.
However, for the next 92 minutes I was totally absorbed. ‘I’ve enjoyed that more than any film I’ve seen for ages’, I enthused whilst enjoying our post-performance pint.
So, what made this particular low-budget production so compelling? Well, apart from some great acting and totally believable characters (alongside Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson was particularly notable as sous-chef Carly for which role she won a Best British Independent Film Award in 2021), the setting was absolutely authentic. This was possibly because it was shot in a Dalton restaurant, Jones & Sons, owned by one of Director and Co-Writer Phil Barantini’s oldest friends, Andy Jones (Barantini borrowed his name for Boiling Point’s head chef).
Hui (2022) informs that ‘Barantini cooked in restaurants between acting jobs and worked his way up to the head chef position at two London establishments’. Perhaps this also accounts for the film’s authenticity. Also, Rooke (2022) ‘While the events in the film are not based on real-life happenings, Barantini himself has struggled and overcome addiction so knows how crippling it can be’.
Additionally, the one-shot filming adds a pacey, edgy feel to the performances. No doubt this is heightened by the speed at which filming was completed.
Hooper (2022) explains ‘ . . . but in Boiling Point remarkably the whole 90 minute running time was shot in one take due to the first lockdown in March 2020 that would have made the filming impossible’.
Hui (2022) quotes owner Jones as explaining, ‘The filming process wasn’t really stressful, but with Covid looming, there was a strange sense of the unknown, which had a huge effect on the performances, as everything felt heightened’.
Plus, the film was jam-packed with personalities and problems. Conflict was ladled onto Graham’s character, Andy. Not only was his personal life in tatters, but his various addictions were completely out of control. His evening got off to a bad start as a safety inspector made an ill-timed visit and ripped two stars away from the restaurant’s rating. Add poorly trained, temperamental staff, a self-seeking celebrity chef calling in a loan, a food critic, a racist guest, a self-harming kitchen worker and a nearly fatal food allergy into the mix and it’s no surprise that, as described by Orestes (2023), Andy ‘spirals into a drug-induced meltdown when the tension proves too much to bear’. As a counterpoint to Andy’s increasingly chaotic character is his calm, collected and remarkably supportive Sous Chef, Carly. But when Andy discloses he was almost persuaded by his erstwhile partner, Alistair, to let her take the ‘rap’ for the food allergy disaster she quits. Subsequently, Andy’s collapse at the end of the film was no surprise but added an uncertain edge to the drama.
Therefore, it is something of a relief to discover that this is not the end of the story. Now there is to be a new four-part TV series based on the film, to be screened later this year. Cormack (2023) explains ‘In the new series, we follow new head chef Carly as she navigates being at the helm of a new restaurant’. But what of Andy? Cormack (2023) informs, ‘the same cannot be said for Stephen Graham’s character, Andy Jones, who looks sullen in his first look image, grasping a beer can while sitting on the sofa in his dressing gown’. Not such good news, but beer is less harmful than neat vodka which we watched him imbibe in the 2021 film, the alcohol cunningly camouflaged by a water bottle. At least he’s alive and as Cormack (2023) suggests, ‘we can only hope that the previously overworked chef is just taking some time out of the kitchen for now’.
Obviously Boiling Point is a compelling concept as this will be its third incarnation. It actually started life as a 22-minute short film, written by the same team, Philip Barantini and James A Cummings and directed by Barantini back in 2019.
Perhaps TV shows such as Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares have whetted our appetites? There is certainly drama aplenty in a busy restaurant kitchen and, having worked briefly in the hotel industry, I certainly witnessed the excitable vagaries of several head chefs and the problems created by a big turnover of ill-skilled unsupported kitchen staff.
I do wonder though how the TV series format will work. For me the cinema environment was absolutely right for the production. The concentration on the big screen with no other distractions and dim lighting was ideal to re-create the claustrophobic atmosphere of the restaurant. Cinematographer Martin Lewis won the 2021 Best British Independent Film Award for his work on the film. Rooke (2022) informs, ‘Even though it was a one-take film, Lewis wanted the film to have a very polished feel to it which is why it was shot in 6K. He didn’t want viewers to be thinking about why there were no cut scenes and instead be able to concentrate on the plot, conversation and fluidity of the take . . . Radio mics and receivers were hidden all over the place to record audio while other light sources were connected to dimming systems so that an operator could make an area lighter or darker as the camera travelled through the set’. It will be interesting to see if the BBC intend to try and replicate the effects or if they plan to move away from the film’s darker themes. I can’t wait to view the series.
Bibliography
Cormack, Morgan (2023). ‘First look at Boiling Point TV series starring Stephen Graham’. [Online] https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/boiling-point-tv-show-first-look-stephen-graham-newsupdate/ (accessed 13.09.23)
Hooper, Simon (2022). ‘How they shot Boiling Point in one take . . .’ [Online] https://anygoodfilms.com/how-they-shot-boiling-point-in-one-take/ (accessed 13.09.23)
Hui, Angela (2022). ‘How Boiling Point was filmed in a real London restaurant’. [Online] https://www.timeout.com/london/news/how-boiling-point-was-filmed-in-a-real-london-restaurant-012622 (accessed 13.09.23)
Orestes, Adam (2023). ‘How a 22-Minute Short Film Was Expanded Into a 92-Minute Long Take’. [Online] https://collider.com/boiling-point-movie/ (accessed14.09.23)
Rooke, Hannah (2022). ‘BAFTA-nominated film Boiling Point is filmed in just one 90 minute take’. [Online] https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/bafta-nominated-film-boiling-point-is-filmed-in-just-one-90-minute-take (accessed 14.09.23)