The Kitchen (2023 film)

Last updated

The Kitchen
The Kitchen (film) poster.jpg
Release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Daniel Kaluuya
  • Joe Murtagh
Produced by
  • Daniel Emmerson
  • Daniel Kaluuya
Starring
CinematographyWyatt Garfield
Edited by
  • Christian Sandino-Taylor
  • Maya Maffioli
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by Netflix
Release dates
  • October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15)(BFI)
  • January 12, 2024 (2024-01-12)(United Kingdom)
Running time
107 minutes [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Kitchen is a 2023 British science fiction action drama film directed by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya from a screenplay from Kaluuya and Joe Murtagh. The film stars Kane Robinson, Jedaiah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jr, Teija Kabs, Demmy Ladipo, Cristale and BackRoad Gee.

Contents

The Kitchen had its world premiere at the 67th BFI London Film Festival on October 15, 2023, and was released in select cinemas in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2024, before its streaming debut by Netflix on 19 January 2024.

Plot

Izi lives in a dystopian future London where social housing has been eliminated. Only one community known as "The Kitchen" remains, but it’s at risk of being erased by the rich. He works at Life After Life, a futuristic funeral service where families who can’t afford a burial can turn their loved ones into trees, which they can visit until it’s time to plant them somewhere.

Izi befriends Benji, a 12-year-old boy who just lost his mother. Despite Izi being quite discreet, Benji notices him enter the chapel and asks Izi if he knew his mother. Izi tells Benji that he met his mother years ago, but doesn’t go into more details. Izi initially rejects Benji until he learns he’s staying with Staples (Hope Ikpoku Jr), the leader of a group of vigilante activists.

Over time they get closer. Izi gets Benji to help him with work at the funeral company. But Izi struggles to open up to Benji and let him into his life. After leaving Benji with no explanation to go live in a luxurious apartment outside "The Kitchen" that he had worked hard to get, Izi returns and he and Benji are forced to hide in the former’s apartment in "The Kitchen" as the police arrive to raid the buildings.

Benji directly asks Izi if he’s his father, with Izi giving a soft and subtle nod before asking him if he wants him to be his dad, with Benji simply saying “let’s just see how it goes”. Izi puts his arm around Benji and keeps him from turning to the door as the police aggressively bang against it. The police break into Izi’s apartment as the screen cuts to black, leaving Izi and Benji’s fates unknown.

Cast

Kane Robinson plays Izi. Kano (crop 1) - splash! Festival 20 (2017).jpg
Kane Robinson plays Izi.

Production

Co-writer, co-director, and producer Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (35411578144) (cropped 2).jpg
Co-writer, co-director, and producer Daniel Kaluuya

The Kitchen is the feature-length directorial debut of both Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya. Tavares, Kaluuya and producer Daniel Emmerson began developing the film in 2014, after a conversation in a barbershop. [2] In 2016, the film was selected for Sundance's Screenwriting and Directing Lab. [3]

Production on the film took place from March to June 2022. [4] The film was shot entirely on location. The Kitchen market was the old London Electricity Board Building on Cambridge Heath Road in London. The Kitchen neighborhood was the Damiers complex in La Défense, Paris. [5]

Release

The Kitchen premiered as the closing film of the 67th BFI London Film Festival on October 15, 2023. [6] It was released in select cinemas in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2024 before its streaming debut by Netflix on 19 January 2024. [1]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 87% of 54 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10.The website's consensus reads: "Smart sci-fi that's solidly grounded in social commentary, The Kitchen suggests a bright future for the directing duo of Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares." [7] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [8]

Wendy Ide of The Guardian gave the movie three stars, noting: "The rich world-building is the picture’s main asset: the film looks fantastic, with its screaming neons and precipitous concrete cliff faces. The space in which the story unfolds is rather more distinctive than the story itself, which covers familiar territory and loses some energy as the film progresses." [9]

Debiparna Chakraborty of Far Out gave the movie four stars, saying: "The film is an unapologetic exploration of societal decay, where oppression echoes the familiar tune of historical colonisers. From land theft to the control of basic resources and extreme police surveillance, The Kitchen arrives with a searing reminder that the tragic future we once read in science-fiction books is already here for the exploited and oppressed." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacey Chabert</span> American actress (born 1982)

Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress. One of her first roles as a child actress was the part of Bianca Montgomery, the daughter of Erica Kane, on All My Children from 1992 to 1993. She gained further prominence for her portrayal of Claudia Salinger in the Fox television drama Party of Five (1994–2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Thewlis</span> English actor (born 1963)

David Wheeler, better known as David Thewlis, is an English actor and filmmaker. He is known as a character actor and has appeared in a wide variety of genres in both film and television. He has received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and nominations for two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kano (British musician)</span> British rapper

Kane Brett Robinson, better known as Kano, is a British rapper, songwriter and actor from East Ham, London. His fifth album, Made in the Manor was shortlisted for the 2016 Mercury Prize and won Best Album at the 2016 MOBO Awards. On screen, he played the role of Sully in Top Boy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Kaluuya</span> English actor (born 1989)

Daniel Kaluuya is an English actor and filmmaker. His work encompasses both screen and stage, and his accolades include an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2021, he was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Kinnear</span> English actor (born 1978)

Rory Michael Kinnear is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in The Man of Mode, and for playing the William Shakespeare villain Iago in Othello in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Brown Findlay</span> English actress (born 1987)

Jessica Rose Brown Findlay is an English actress. She played Lady Sybil Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey and Emelia Conan Doyle in the 2011 British comedy-drama feature film Albatross.

<i>Top Boy</i> British television crime drama series

Top Boy is a British crime drama thriller television series created and written by Ronan Bennett. The series is set on the fictional Summerhouse estate in the London Borough of Hackney. It focuses on two drug dealers, Dushane and Sully, along with others involved with drug dealing and gang violence in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spencer Hawken</span> British film producer and director

Spencer Hawken is a British film producer, director, writer, and former film critic. His work includes Death Walks and No Reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Sharman</span> English actor (born 1986)

Daniel Andrew Sharman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Isaac Lahey on the television series Teen Wolf (2012–2014), Kaleb Westphall / Kol Mikaelson on The Originals (2014–2015), Troy Otto on Fear the Walking Dead, Lorenzo de' Medici in Medici: The Magnificent (2018), and the Weeping Monk in Cursed (2020). He also starred in the film Immortals (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifteen Million Merits</span> 2nd episode of the 1st series of Black Mirror

"Fifteen Million Merits" is the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by the series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and his wife Konnie Huq and directed by Euros Lyn. It first aired on Channel 4 on 11 December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Vik</span> Czech screenwriter and director

Eva Vik is a Czech filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and producer, represented by Ridley Scott Creative Group worldwide. She is known for films such as Serpentine (2023), Raven (2022) and Carte Blanche (2019). She has been recognized with numerous film awards for her rapidly rising career including the Breakout Director's Award at the Hollywood Film Festival, the Audience Award and the Best Genre Film Award at the Mammoth Film Festival, and the Best Director at HollyShorts Film Festival. Eva Vik's short film Serpentine (2023) has been nominated at the Tribeca Film Festival for the X Award and has over 2 million views on Nowness. Moreover, Eva Vik was awarded at Centre Pompidou for her Transformational Trilogy Sounds of Sun, Somnio, Samice in 2019. In 2021, Forbes magazine ranked Eva Vik among the 30 most influential people under 30.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkeypaw Productions</span> American production company

Monkeypaw Productions is an American independent film and television production company founded by Jordan Peele in 2012. It is known for producing horror films, such as Get Out, Us, Candyman, Nope, and Wendell & Wild, as well as other films, such as Keanu and Monkey Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archie Renaux</span> English actor, model (born 1997)

Archie James Beale, known professionally as Archie Renaux, is an English actor. On television, he is known for his roles in the BBC One miniseries Gold Digger (2019) and the Netflix series Shadow and Bone (2021–2023). His films include Upgraded and Alien: Romulus.

<i>Judas and the Black Messiah</i> 2021 film by Shaka King

Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed and produced by Shaka King, who wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, based on a story by the pair and Kenny and Keith Lucas. The film is about the betrayal of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal, an FBI informant. Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Dominique Thorne, and Martin Sheen also star.

<i>Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery</i> 2022 film by Rian Johnson

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a 2022 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman. It is a standalone sequel to the 2019 film Knives Out, and the second installment in the Knives Out film series. The movie stars Daniel Craig reprising his role as master detective Benoit Blanc as he takes on a new case revolving around tech billionaire Miles Bron and his closest friends. The ensemble cast also includes Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

Kibwe Tavares is a British filmmaker and architect. He is the co-founder of Factory Fifteen, a studio that uses animation and emerging technologies to understand and explain the built environment. His first short, Robots of Brixton, was awarded the 2011 Royal Institute of British Architects President's Medal. He is a 2020 TED Senior Fellow.

Outer Banks is an American action-adventure mystery teen drama television series created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke that premiered on Netflix on April 15, 2020. The series is set in a community in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and follows the conflict between two groups of teenagers in search of a lost treasure.

Shaquille Ali-Yebuah is a British actor.

<i>Lockwood & Co.</i> (TV series) 2023 British detective thriller television series

Lockwood & Co. is a British supernatural detective thriller television series developed by Joe Cornish for Netflix based on Jonathan Stroud's book series of the same name. Consisting of eight episodes, it premiered on 27 January 2023. It follows the plots of the first two books, The Screaming Staircase and The Whispering Skull. In May 2023, the series was cancelled after one season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 BFI London Film Festival</span> 2023 film festival

The 67th BFI London Film Festival was a film festival that took place from 4–15 October 2023. The competition films were announced on 29 August 2023 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 31 August 2023. The juries for the various sections of the festival were announced on 19 September 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Kitchen (15)". BBFC . 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Kaluuya on Instagram: "This one has been 8 years in the making with director @kibwetavares and producer Dan Emmerson, started from a conversation in a barbershop when I found out kids were doing million pound heists in a minute for £200 to a dystopian London in the future. Production just started on The Kitchen. Proud to be co-writing (w/ @_joemurtagh_ ) and producing on this one through my production company 59% alongside DMC Film, Film 4 & @netflixuk @netflixfilm. Starring @therealkano and Jedaiah Bannerman. Looking forward to you guys taking it away with you. Outside soon. In a bit. 💎🏍"". Instagram. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  3. ↑ Yossman, K. J. (30 March 2022). "Daniel Kaluuya Pens Dystopian Drama for Netflix, Michael Fassbender Exec Producing". Variety. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Kaluuya on Instagram: "That's a wrap on The Kitchen. Big up every single member of the cast and crew who spent the last few months building this. Shout out to the Starboy @jedaiahbannerman Big up @dailypaper 🫡 Banger loaded. They can't stop we. 🏍"". Instagram. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Where was The Kitchen filmed? Guide to all the locations in London and Paris". Atlas of wonders. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "The 2023 BFI London Film Festival Closing Night Gala will be the World Premiere of Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya's The Kitchen". BFI. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "The Kitchen". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 29 January 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  8. ↑ "The Kitchen". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Ide, Wendy (21 January 2024). "The Kitchen review – Kane Robinson shines in Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares's dystopian London drama". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Daniel Kaluuya - 'The Kitchen' movie review". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.