After their restaurant in India is destroyed during a riot and his wife is killed, Papa (Om Puri) takes his children to Europe, where they eventually settle in France after finding a derelict restaurant to set up in. Papa's son, Hassan Haji (Manish Dayal) is an incredibly talented young cook who is able to produce food that will draw local attention. The only problem is that there is a prestigious restaurant already open across the road, operated by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren).
A feud unfolds between Papa and Mallory, whilst Hassan catches the attention of sous-chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon). Things are then further complicated when Mallory recognises Hassan's talent and decides to take him under her wings.
Helen Mirren always seems to bring so much life to her characters, but here she plays such a completely unlikable, borderline racist woman that even her natural charm can't manage to resuscitate the character. She does pull off a French accent for the most part and by no means gives a poor performance, but at the end of the day, you can't polish a t*rd. Om Puri's character is a lot more enjoyable to watch and is humorous with just the right amount of arrogance. However the rest of the cast were generally quite bland.
I think the real issue here though is the plot. It's fanciful and quite bizarre in it's level of suggestiveness in parts, such as a strangely erotic omelet-making scene between Mallory and Hassan which seems to be channelling this scene from Ghost. There's also the fact that the "war" between the two restaurants is illustrated in what seem to be very hectic training montages of slicing and dicing that are so over the top that you can't help but laugh. Then after all that, there's the excruciating finale that darts around in a series of false endings that go on and on. This script seriously needed some work.
Though it's not all bad. For one thing it's gorgeous to look at, with vivid colours and mouthwatering-food, not surprising considering the stylistic tendencies of cinematographer Linus Sandgren (American Hustle, Promised Land). There's also the humour, which (although a bit hit and miss) really keeps the whole thing afloat. In the end, it's certainly not a terrible movie and I'm sure it would appeal to many people, but it seems too dramatically forced and is lacking in many areas.
No comments:
Post a Comment