Movie Review: THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY
Director: Lasse Hallström
Starring: Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon

Maybe it’s my love of cooking, eating, and anything related to food, but I am a sucker for a good foodie movie. We’ve got our second one this summer after Jon Favreau’s Chef which focused on the food truck movement. The Hundred-Foot Journey takes us to the French countryside. The Kadam family lost their family restaurant and everything else back in India due to a fire. After spending some unsuccessful time in England, they decide to take another journey and move to France. Papa (Puri) is bound and determined to get the restaurant business up and running again with his son Hassan (Dayal) as the head chef. He has his eyes set on a rundown building that just happens to be across the street from a sophisticated French restaurant that caters to classical cuisine. It is run by Madame Mallory (Mirren) who is stubborn like an ox.

She is ready to start an all-out war with her latest competitor. This only infuriates Papa even more, but Hassan continues to create wonderful dishes for their restaurant until tragedy strikes as an attempt to stop this lovely Indian family from creating their masterpieces. Madame Mallory feels a responsibility for the actions, but Papa continues to keep his guard up. Meanwhile, Hassan just wants to make good food whether it’s his traditional Indian favorites or the new French recipes he is learning from the books he receives by Mallory’s sous chef Marguerite (Le Bon).

In case you haven’t noticed any of the marketing efforts for this movie, it boasts Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey as producers. With Lasse Hallström directing the feisty Helen Mirren, you have the ingredients for a delightful and hearty movie. This also happens to be his second foodie movie including 2000's Chocolat. Screenwriter Steven Knight has previously tackled heavier and more suspenseful films (Locke, Eastern Promises), so this is a sharp turn from that. I haven’t read the book by Richard C. Morais yet, but the story has more dimensions than I think the trailer is leading on. Each of the four main characters gets their due moments and arcs. Mirren’s Madame Mallory is not just the snobbish battle ax you expect her to be. I did start to wonder if she was going to be a one noted character, but I knew Mirren would find the layers in her. She pairs well with Om Puri who has to stand his ground against her ways. He is more than capable of that challenge. This battle between the two stubborn personalities adds some delightful humor to the story. Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon are relative newcomers. Dayal is a good-looking charmer and has some sizzling chemistry with Le Bon. I suppose it’s hard to write a story centered on the love of food and not have sparks between two of the characters.

This is not just another boy meets girl from a different culture love story. There is more to it than that. It’s merely one side dish to a bigger meal. The culture and attitudes toward both cuisines plays a factor not only in the style of food, but comes into play between the characters of Papa and Madame Mallory. They are the personal embodiments to the way they describe what is so special about their cuisine. The French cooking is very subtle, sophisticated, and classy with a pinch of spice here or there. Papa’s Indian recipes are loud and powerful with a spoonful of this spice or that spice. These spices are naturally handed down to the next generation and considered an honor. It is a joy watching the fusion of these two very different temperaments and palettes spar with each other.

The Hundred-Foot Journey suffers a bit in its approach to the ending of the story. I should say multiple endings. I thought the movie was going to end once the feel-good climax happens, but the story continues with what feels like an epilogue. I’m assuming this happens in the book as well and maybe it works better there. In the movie, it almost feels too rushed and short to feel like it’s the third act. I’m slightly conflicted over it as I understand the point of it due to its commentary on the state of cooking these days and these characters, but part of me doesn’t feel like it’s actually necessary. Don’t get me wrong; it doesn't hinder the rest of this delightful movie. How do you not drool whenever the photography of the food is handled with such care? I think some of the camera work is slowed down just to make us relish in it a bit longer. Maybe it is their way of getting us to slow down and enjoy the process of cooking in the same way we enjoy eating it. I think too often we scramble together a meal without fully appreciating the art and science behind it. I know I wanted to go home after seeing this and perfect my omelet recipe and look up those four standard French sauces.

Is it Worth Your Trip to the Movies? Foodies will no doubt devour every bite of this journey.

RATING: 4 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The 2013 Full Uncensored Actresses and Producers Roundtable

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The 2013 Full Uncensored Actresses and Producers Roundtable

The Hollywood Reporter continues their roundtable discussions with two more that have been released in the series. This time we have many of the actresses and producers that are making a splash this awards season. You may notice some of the same movies being discussed, but it is always interesting hearing about the process from different perspectives involved in the production. I have included links to all of my reviews thus far.

The Actresses Roundtable

Amy Adams, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler

“This is what I learned working with Meryl Streep. She works her ass off. It is not a magic trick. She does not just show up and be brilliant. You see the mechanics of it in way that I found such a comfort.” -Julia Roberts



The Producers Roundtable

Michael De Luca, Captain Phillips
Dede Gardner, 12 Years a Slave
David Heyman, Gravity
Charles Roven, American Hustle
Mark Wahlberg, Lone Survivor
Pam Williams, Lee Daniels' The Butler




In case you missed it,
-"The Actors Roundtable" can be found here
-"The Directors Roundtable" and "The Writers Roudtable" can be found here

Movie Review: LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER

LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Lenny Kravitz, Cuba Gooding, Jr. Terrence Howard

Director Lee Daniels has lined up one hell of an ensemble for his latest movie. The movie is a who’s who of Oscar winners and heavy hitters. Do not let the trailer fool you; the story is more about the butler’s family than all the presidents the butler worked for. As a young boy, Cecil Gaines (Whitaker) grew up working as a field servant and a house servant on a cotton field. When he is old enough to leave that volatile environment, he gets taken in by a restaurant manager who realizes he is in need of help. He takes him under his wing and teaches him the proper etiquette to be a waiter and butler. After twenty years of serving the guests of the Excelsior Hotel, Cecil’s extraordinary service gets noticed. He gets a call from the White House to work as a butler under President Eisenhower (Robin Williams). For someone from his background, this was an opportunity that only dreams were made of. Cecil would go on to work for each president from the Eisenhower administration through Ronald Reagan (Alan Rickman).

The film centers around the Gaines family and how they deal with the shift in equality for an African American family from the years of the Civil Rights Movement to the eventual run of the first African American president. Cecil’s work in the White House provides support for his wife Gloria (Winfrey) and sons Louis (Oyelowo) and Charlie (Elijah Kelly). Louis grows up to take his life into a different direction by fighting for equality. Much to his parents dismay for his safety, he joins the Freedom Riders, becomes a member of Martin Luther King’s inner circle, and later joins the Black Panthers. Charlie decides to head into battle in Vietnam. Gloria has trouble coping and dealing with the fact her husband is never home and the lives of her sons are always in jeopardy. Cecil remains devoted and faithful to her throughout the years despite some of the choices she makes in dealing with her depression.

Whenever I see “inspired by a true story” in the credits, I translate that to mean that the idea for the film may be based on a real person, but the majority of the story and its characters are fictitious and made-up for dramatic purposes. The screenplay by Emmy winner Danny Strong (Game Change) is adapted from a Washington Post article called, “A Butler Well Served by This Election” by Wil Haygood. The character of Cecil Gaines is based on Eugene Allen who served under eight presidents from Truman to Reagan. He had a wife, one son, and the ending of the movie is similar to the events in Allen’s life, but other than that, the majority of the film is fictional. Some may feel like the film is a choppy Cliff Notes storyline of the history of each of these presidents. I disagree as Strong’s idea to turn the movie into a family story grounds the film and makes it more humane in tone without feeling like a boring special on the History Channel.

Some of the casting may seem a bit gimmicky like having Robin Williams play Eisenhower or John Cusack play Richard Nixon. Surprisingly enough, the majority of the casting works pretty well. The trailer makes it look like they have supporting roles, but many are glorified cameos in one or two scenes. Cusack may not look like Nixon, but he does have the voice down. Many of these actors (Gooding, Kravitz, Carey, Cusack, and Oyelowo) have appeared in Daniels’ other films. If only Jane Fonda could have been in more of the movie as Nancy Reagan. She is quite good in the five minutes we see her. The real standouts are Whitaker, Winfrey, and Oyelowo. It is a bummer that many people forget Winfrey is quite a talented actress. I do not think she or others give her the credit she deserves. Gloria is by no means an easy walk-on role. It is even more impressive as this is her first film in fifteen years since 1998’s Beloved. Winfrey and Whitaker stretch themselves vocally and physically to age their characters at an appropriate pace in the sixty years the film spans. Kudos to the hair and make-up team for their work at aging those characters as well as their work on the other historical figures.

With only four movies under his belt, Lee Daniels is growing as a director. He makes interesting choices with his projects and casting decisions. I do not feel like he is ever playing it completely safe. His ideas may not always work out, but I appreciate his approach and outlook as a filmmaker. Precious was an intense film that packs a punch, but it is a one-time-only film for me. The Paperboy, unfortunately, was a bit of a muddled mess. Lee Daniels’ The Butler may get a bit sentimental for audiences looking for a more historical to-the-point look at the time period. Again, I disagree. Daniels gets fantastic performances out of his cast and keeps the pace going swiftly despite all of the ground he is trying to cover. Strong’s screenplay is sharp enough without ever feeling too “let’s feel sorry for the characters”. There are plenty of good laughs, times you’ll be embarrassed by history, and times you will cheer for the Gaines family. I saw it with a packed house and there were numerous audible reactions along the way.

The movie is definitely aiming for some Oscar gold here. You’ve got your inspirational storyline, historical setting and timeline, stand-out performances, and Oscar winning cast members. We shall see if it is still remembered come voting season. It is produced by The Weinstein Company who love to campaign hard for their movies. Like Fruitvale Station, I think it is another important film to see to remind us of how far we have come regarding equality in this country.

RATING: **** 1/2 (4.5 out of 5 stars)