Boiling Point is a 2021 British drama film directed by Philip Barantini and written by Barantini and James Cummings. It stars Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Ray Panthaki, and Hannah Walters. It is a one-shot film set in a restaurant kitchen. It is an expansion of a 2019 short film of the same name, also directed by Barantini and starring Graham.[2][3] It was originally planned to record eight takes of the film, but it was only possible to film half of these before a COVID-19 lockdown led to the end of the shoot.[4]
Andy Jones is Head Chef of Jones & Sons, an upmarket restaurant in London.
Andy is embarrassed to learn that his restaurant has been downgraded from a 5 star Health and Safety rating to 3 stars following an inspection, mostly due to insufficient administration and subpar sanitation at each work station.
After the inspector leaves, Andy reprimands the kitchen staff for their lack of thoroughness, though backtracks when he learns that the turbot that he had prepared earlier was discarded by the inspector for not being labelled.
Front of house manager Beth holds a short meeting to discuss the evening's service being overbooked.
She also mentions that they have a marriage proposal on one table and a booking for celebrity chef Alastair Skye, for whom Andy previously worked, plus his guest for the evening, a known food critic.
During dinner service, conflict begins to brew in the kitchen and dining room.
Beth annoys the kitchen staff with micro-management;
a black waitress is treated with hostility by an aggressive guest (in contrast to her white colleague);[9][10] a young pastry chef (Jamie) is revealed to be self-harming; a pregnant kitchen porter spars with a lazy and disrespectful co-worker; and the new cold chef Camille, who is from France, struggles with the language barrier and British regional accents.
Tension grows until Beth demands the already-stressed chef Carly go off-menu by preparing steak and chips to appease a group of "influencer" guests. Carly finally blows up at her when a dish of lamb is returned for being supposedly undercooked. Carly blames Beth for not properly instructing her staff to explain that the lamb is properly cooked. She tells her that she is failing the restaurant with her lack of ability. Beth retreats to the toilets in tears, admitting to her father on the phone that she does not think the job is right for her. Andy serves Alastair's table, where Alastair reveals that Andy owes him £200,000 and wants the payment in full to cover his private losses. Andy explains that he does not have the money to pay him back.
Alastair offers to work together with Andy again and proposes that he should get a 70% share of the restaurant, leaving Andy and his other investors with just the remaining 30% to share between them.
A guest suffers a severe allergic reaction, which Camille had inadvertently caused.
Taking advantage of the situation, Alastair informs Andy that Carly should take the fall or else the restaurant as well as their potential partnership will fail. After the guest is picked up by an ambulance, the kitchen staff and Beth meet at the back of kitchen to determine the cause. They conclude that it was Andy's fault the food was contaminated. Earlier, he had instructed Camille to use a bottle containing walnut oil as a substitute garnish.
This culminates in one of the chefs, Freeman, lambasting Andy for his constant lateness and mistakes as well as his rampant alcoholism. A fight nearly breaks out between Andy and Freeman, which Carly prevents.
The staff return to work and Andy then reveals to Carly that Alastair wanted him to lay the blame on her, which leads to Carly quitting. Andy goes to his office, where he drinks vodka and snorts cocaine.
He calls his ex-wife, and asks her to tell his son he loves him, and that he will go to rehab. After ending the call, Andy throws away the drugs and alcohol and starts to return to the kitchen before collapsing. The staff's voices are heard calling his name.
Boiling Point was directed by Philip Barantini and written by Barantini and James Cummings.[11] It was shot in a real restaurant called Jones & Sons in Dalston, London.[12] The character of Andy Jones was named after a friend of Barantini's who owns the restaurant.[12] The film wrapped in March 2020.[12]
Reception
Box office
In the United Kingdom, the film earned $107,525 from 53 cinemas in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $1,142,493 worldwide.[1]
Critical response
The film received critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 67 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Gripping from start to finish, Boiling Point uses its bold formal approach to support a thrilling tightrope of a tale."[13] At the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, Boiling Point was nominated for 11 awards and won four — including Best Supporting Actress for Vinette Robinson, Best Casting, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound.[14]
Glenn Kenny of The New York Times noted in regard to the film's one-shot nature that, "when [the camera] trails a restaurant worker taking out the trash, the viewer knows they're not being removed from the central action just to observe labor — there's a plot point to be ticked."[15]
A continuation TV series for the BBC was confirmed in October 2022, with Graham, Robinson and Walters reprising their roles. Barantini directed the first two episodes, with James Cummings returning as writer.[17]
The series began airing on BBC One in October 2023.[18]
