🍿28: Boiling Point
Cooking up a storm in this week's SP with a review of Stephen Graham's intense one-shot drama.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
~ The Shining, 1980
I thought hurricane season was over!
What a delicious start we’ve had to the new year with a solid range of salty on-screen treats. I’m happy to say that I’ve watched some truly great cinema and TV since the last edition of Salty Popcorn, here’s a quick run-through:
Licorice Pizza | Thomas Paul Anderson (Phantom Thread, The Will Be Blood) has taken an unlikely direction with this coming of age dramedy starring Alana Heim in her Hollywood debut and Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour-Hoffman. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and if I was reviewing it this week it would have been close to getting a 5-star review.
The Lost Daughter | Based on the book Elena Ferrante and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, this film follows a university professor (Olivia Coleman) on holiday to Greece where as she becomes fixated with a woman and her young daughter.
American Hustle | Con artists Irving (Christian Bale) and Sydney (Amy Adams) are forced to work for FBI agent Richie (Bradley Cooper) in a sting operation as part of a deal that will keep them out of jail. With other stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner and a number of cameos, this is a dark, cool comedy made for a great watch on New Year’s Day.
Now for the headlines:
The trailer for the upcoming Bob’s Burgers movie dropped. Watch it here.
The long-talked-about reboot of the jaw-shattering action The Raid is being picked up again, this time with Michael Bay, Patrick Hughes and the original film’s director Gareth Evans. Read more.
Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley and Benedict Cumberbatch are all set to star in Wes Anderson’s film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar. Read more.
In what feels like another blow to the cinema industry, it’s looking like Pixar’s Turning Red will skip the cinematic release and premiere on Disney+. Read more.
Golden Globe winners were announced at an untelevised ceremony where no celebrities turned up as stars seek to distance themselves from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Read more for the list of winners.
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Upcoming Releases
X
UK: 18 March // USA: 18 March
From the studio that gave us Hereditary, A24’s upcoming horror X stars Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega and Scott Mescudi (aka. Kid Cudi) as they try to secretly film a porno in the country grounds of a stranger with an ill wife… I’m hoping it’s not as seedy as it sounds, this is A24!
The Worst Person in the World
UK: 25 March // USA: 4 February
This light-hearted drama chronicles four years in the life of Julie (Ranate Reinsve), a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
While the trailer isn’t all that new, the film itself is getting a lot of praise from critics.
Fact of the week
This week’s feature film, Boiling Point, was filmed in one take - and yes, it’s seriously impressive. The plan was for there to be eight attempts at filming, twice per night over the course of four days in early March 2020.
As this was when COVID-19 was getting into full swing, Stephen Graham and the producers decided it was too dangerous to bring so many people together. As a result, the filming period was cut to just two days, resulting in only four takes - the third of which was used for the final film.
Review: Boiling Point
Star rating:
4.5 (out of 5)
Where to watch:
USA: Apple TV / Amazon Prime ($6.99)
UK: Only in Cinemas
Runtime:
1hr 32m
Director:
Philip Barantini
Blurb:
An emotionally scarred London chef (Stephen Graham) struggles to wrangle his team on the busiest day of the year in this single-take thriller.
The review (NO spoilers):
Boiling Point is a tour de force of direction, performance and choreography as this intense situational drama takes its course over a single take. Such a stunt is a remarkable feat for any director, let alone Barantini who’s only directed one other feature-length film.
The effect of such a format, as Mark Kermode points out, begs the question as to whether the film was actually filmed in one shot or merely manipulated. In this case, Boiling Point really was filmed in a single shot and the effect is to feel totally and utterly enthralled in everything that happens on screen - to such an extent you practically forget it’s a one shot film!
What’s equally remarkable is that in just 92 minutes, we’re introduced to a rich tapestry of different characters and we know them, instantly. Despite not being shown much of their lives outside of the restaurant, we feel connected to them.
While Andy (Graham) is undoubtedly the protagonist and the star, we’re given an intimate moment with almost everyone working in that restaurant and it feels like we know everything about them. This in itself is original and superbly well done.
If you’ve ever taken a moment to stop, look around and think about how everyone around you is living their own life, with their own thoughts and their own story (of which they’re the protagonist) then you’ll be pleased with how this film encapsulates that thought.
Boiling Point really lends itself to the idea (or rather, the fact) that there are millions of stories unfolding at any given moment. Yet, unlike films such as Crash and Babylon it shows no interest as to how these stories intersect, it just appreciates that they are there - and it works.
While Stephen Graham is on top form (when is he not?) the whole cast put on a marvellous performance and all these elements make Boiling Point one of the best British films I’ve seen in a long time.
Scroll down to see what’s in the next issue.
If you liked Boiling Point…
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
2017 | UK: Amazon Prime (£3.49) // US: Starz (free)
In all honesty, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is nothing like Boiling Point beyond the fact that Stephen Graham is a scouser, but I’ve really struggled to find anything like this week’s feature film.
What I will say is that Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is a heartwarming tale based on a true story that sees beautiful performances from Annette Bening and Jamie Bell.
In the next issue:
Nightmare Alley
UK: 21 January // USA: 17 December (‘21) | Watch the Trailer
Nice one! Very excited to see some scouse stuff in here. Can't wait to see Boiling Point!