Burnt is a film which comes directed by John Wells who some may know as the director of August: Osage County (2013). The film stars Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl and Alicia Vikander. Burnt follows the story of a chef named Adam Jones, who is recovering from a life ruined by drugs and is trying to redeem himself by earning a Michelin star, one of the highest of honors a chef can obtain.
Burnt Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7h51iJfsj4
Burnt Review
It’s not often that a cooking film comes along and it’s not often that you get a fairly decent cooking film either. Burnt is one of the best of the recent cooking films that I have seen and it’s a solid drama to watch as well. Bradley Cooper plays Adam Jones who is a very ambitious chef with a messed up past and ambitious goal to be a three star Michelin chef.
Characterisation is strong in Burnt, with Bradley Cooper’s character (Adam Jones) receiving the most attention from the script writers. Adam is an interesting person to follow throughout the film as we watch him try to achieve his goals, his character is quite emotive and we see him angry, frustrated, sad, happy or drunk throughout the journey and it’s great! The film gives Bradley Cooper who is a very talented actor a lot to work with and he doesn’t disappoint at all.
Acting in Burnt is rather good, on top of the already impressive Bradley Cooper we get some good performances from Sienna Miller and Daniel Brühl. Sienna Miller plays Helene who works for Adam in the kitchen and plays a very important role in his life. Daniel Brühl on the other hand kind of fills in for more of the more comedic scenes for the comedic side of this drama/comedy and he does have some funny moments throughout. Some of the actors maybe could have had more screen time such as Alicia Vikander who only really had a couple of scenes in the film.
John Wells’ directing of Burnt was well done and the balancing between the more dramatic scenes in the kitchen as well as Adam’s life is offset quite well with some comedy thrown in to lighten things up. Some of the shots of the food or meals that were prepared during the film were truly great, with the vibrant colours and textures of the meals really standing out on screen. I would recommend bringing some snacks with you if you see this film because I can see quite a lot of people getting hungry watching it.
The only real criticism I have of the film is that it felt a little bit short. Its run time is 100 minutes, but it felt like it went by quickly, with the ending wrapping up very fast at the end. I felt that some of the characters could of had a bit more time on screen especially Alicia Vikander’s character because the film was quite well made and I would have really liked to sit in the cinema a bit longer that day, as I was left with a few questions about some characters which I didn’t see much of by the end.
Burnt is a really decent cooking film and quite a good comedy/drama film to watch at the cinema. The colours of the meals that are prepared throughout the film really stand out on the big screen with John Wells handling all the shots perfectly. Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and Daniel Brühl are the standouts of the film with all of them giving solid performances for the viewers to enjoy. Characterisation is very strong, particularly with Adam Jones and the story is interesting to follow, being both dramatic and funny to watch. I’m happy to say that you should go and see it if interested, or just a fan of the actors or the director. Just make sure you bring some snacks as you may get hungry watching all the food being prepared on the big screen.
