Review: Burnt

Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) stops dead in his tracks at the sight of former flame Anne Marie. And why not? Anne Marie is played by the arrestingly lovely Alicia Vikander, who supplies more depth of feeling in her two fleeting scenes than the rest of the film possesses. There's another scene, also late in the film, between Adam and longtime friend and maitre d', Tony (Daniel Brühl), that provides more of a sexual frisson than the conventional romance between Adam and his headstrong chef de partie, Helene (Sienna Miller). Both scenes pinpoint exactly where the film goes wrong: Burnt is at its best when it stops telling us about Adam and simply lets him interact with the other characters.

The normally reliable screenwriter Steven Knight isolates his protagonist for most of the movie. It's deliberate, to be sure, but when you have a character that throws temper tantrums because perfection has not been achieved and appears hellbent on antagonising everyone around him, you run the danger of alienating your audience's affection and interest. Affection is not essential, but interest is paramount. Casting Cooper is a precautionary and preventive measure, though even his boundless charisma fights hard to overcome risible clunkers like, "I sentenced myself to hard labour shucking oysters, and today is the last day of my penance."

Adam has swaggered into London after several years of self-imposed exile in New Orleans. He's determined to redeem himself, specifically the self who slept with every woman, abused every substance and burned every bridge during his bad boy days in Paris. His old friends and rivals are shocked that he's even alive and are more than skeptical when he proclaims his intention to conquer the city's restaurant scene and earn his third Michelin star in the process. He goes about gathering his team, the script introducing us to several characters, most of whom are almost immediately discarded to the sidelines. There's old mate Michel (Omar Sy), who's willing to overlook Adam's past wrongdoings in order to help him achieve his quest; ex-con Max (Riccardo Scamarcio); green under the gills David (Sam Keeley), and single mother Helene, whose drive and ambition matches Adam's.

Miller is very good as Helene, and she and American Sniper co-star Cooper engage in a pas de deux that features equal parts tension and romance. Nonetheless, the relationship is fairly by-the-numbers and the least interesting, which is unfortunate as it's the only connection that is fostered for most of the film. The intriguing strands that thread Adam to Anne Marie, Tony or rival Reece (Matthew Rhys) are never strengthened, yet these are the most potent in the film. It also wastes the talent involved, but when the film reduces the likes of Emma Thompson and Uma Thurman to unnecessary cameos, it seems relatively par for the course.

Director John Wells' restlessly roving camera records the swirl of activity in the kitchen and the precisely composed plates of mouthwatering delights are beautifully presented by cinematographer Adriano Goldman. The script could have used more pruning - there is too much going on and most of it (thugs keep showing up to collect on Adam's past debts, his therapy sessions with Thompson's Dr. Rosshilde) fails to add to the core story.

Burnt

Directed by: John Wells

Written by: Steven Knight

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl, Omar Sy, Matthew Rhys, Riccardo Scamarcio, Sam Keeley, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson, Alicia Vikander, Lily James, Stephen Campbell Moore, Henry Goodman, Lexi Benbow-Hart, Sarah Greene