Film Food for Thought

Hundred-Foot Journey serves up delectable food porn — and charming Mirren

Adapting a book into a film can be a thankless job. Not only must you attempt to please fans of the book — who want every tiny detail put up on screen — but you also have to consider those who haven’t read it and just want a rewarding movie experience.

It’s unclear if either side will be fully satisfied with The Hundred-Foot Journey, based on the best-selling debut novel by Richard C. Morais. The story follows the Kadam family, who make their way from India to France following a family tragedy. Once there, the family patriarch (Om Puri) decides to open up a restaurant directly across the street from a world-class one owned by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren).

Hallstrom uses close-ups, slow motion, sound and character reactions to great effect; you can almost smell the food coming through the screen.

What he has that she doesn’t, though, is his son, Hassan (Manish Dayal), who is an intuitive and multitalented chef despite having no official training. The two restaurants spar through the actions of their owners and the cooking of their chefs, when Hassan faces off against Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), Madame Mallory’s sous chef.

Any movie that revolves around food must properly showcase its preparation, and that is something director Lasse Hallstrom does well. He uses close-ups, slow motion, sound and character reactions to great effect; you can almost smell the food coming through the screen. (Hallstrom has an illustrious cinematic food history, with the 2000 movie Chocolat, which he directed.)

The story, however, is a bit undercooked. From minute one, it is clear where the film is headed, so the execution of its arcs needs to be spot on. Even though I have not read the book, I could still feel the absence of some parts of the story, because of the way Hallstrom and screenwriter Steven Knight lingered on certain aspects and then sped through others.

The film takes place over the course of a few years, but save for a few fleeting references to time’s passing by, the time span feels much shorter. This negatively impacts the two developing relationships: Hallstrom gives both a good amount of attention, but never enough so that they truly seem meaningful.

That’s not to say the film isn’t enjoyable; it has plenty of charm, thanks to the acting. Mirren’s French accent has a certain je ne sais quoi that gives her performance a comfortable, lived-in quality. Puri’s weathered face and rambunctious demeanor help enliven his character’s rivalry with Madame Mallory.

But it’s Dayal and Le Bon who make the movie. Neither are newcomers, but they’re far from household names, which gives their characters’ slow burn of a relationship more believability. Each is worldly and innocent at the same time, qualities that should make them attractive to a wide swath of moviegoers.

The Hundred-Foot Journey leaves you hungry for more in certain courses, but the presentation of its food and the performances of the actors make it a satisfying meal nonetheless.

Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks Pictures

Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Movie Review

Supergirl fails to take flight in a movie weighed down by grief

Milly Alcock in Supergirl

Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures

Milly Alcock in Supergirl.

Last year's Superman reboot brought a renewed sense of optimism for, if not the concept of the comic book movie, then at least the DC Comics universe. After more than a decade of DC films that felt mostly creatively bankrupt, the leadership of James Gunn gave the story a sense of fun. That included the brief introduction of Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, who’s now getting her own showcase in, naturally, Supergirl.

When we first met her in Superman, Supergirl was in rough shape, arriving at the Fortress of Solitude visibly inebriated. Nothing has changed at the beginning of this film, save for her aimlessly traveling around the universe with her rambunctious dog, Krypto. One of her random stops puts her in the same bar as Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is looking for help tracking down Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) and a group known as the Brigands after they brutally murdered her family.

Kara is initially loath to offer aid, but when Krem shoots a poison dart into Krypto while escaping, her motivation goes way up, especially since Krem holds the antidote. Kara, with Ruthye doggedly following her, uses every means available to her to find Krem, a journey that is hampered by galaxies having different colored suns than the one that gives her powers, the yellow sun.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is a big step back in the fun category, not least because Supergirl is deep in her feelings for much of the film. Her personal trauma, which is detailed in occasional flashbacks, gives a reason for her depression, but fails to land fully. The story seems to want everyone to be sad, as it includes a child trafficking ring and multiple instances of families being murdered.

Milly Alcock and Krypto in Supergirl.Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

To try to counteract that downer material, the filmmakers give Supergirl many opportunities to show off her fighting skills. While still CGI-heavy, the action scenes contain enough of a semblance of reality that they feel exciting. Unfortunately, this is undercut by the inclusion of several slow-motion sequences, giving the impression that the filmmakers didn’t trust the actors to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.

Superman (David Corenswet) makes a handful of appearances in the film, and while his presence is welcome given how well the character came across in the previous movie, it also doesn’t allow Supergirl to become her own person. Almost everything she does is colored by either her cousin or her parents, and since her powers are identical to those of Superman, there is very little that makes her story unique aside from how she’s dealing with the fallout.

Alcock (House of the Dragon, Sirens) gives an appealing performance despite her character being drunk and/or moody most of the time. She definitely sells what Supergirl is going through, so if given a better story in a future film, she’s proven her capability. Schoenaerts makes for a pretty good villain, although he’s aided by a look that includes a face full of studs. Jason Momoa has a memorable supporting role as the bounty hunter Lobo, even if his character doesn’t add much to the story.

While not a full-on disaster, Supergirl does not continue the momentum that Superman started. With a story that’s more concerned with showing audiences death scenes than a hero saving people, the film doesn’t seem to understand the appeal of a character like Supergirl or how to make her someone audiences will return to over and over again.

---

Supergirl is now playing in theaters.

Loading...