Boiling Point (2021 film)

Andy Jones is head chef of Jones & Sons, an upmarket restaurant in London. Andy is embarrassed to learn that his restaurant has been downgraded from a Food Hygiene Rating of 5 to a 3 following an audit by a food inspector, mostly due to insufficient administration and subpar sanitation at several work stations: new cold chef Camille washed her hands in the food preparation sink; while demi-chef Tony was not wearing gloves shucking oysters, thus risking cross-contamination.

After the inspector leaves, Andy reprimands the kitchen staff for their lack of thoroughness, albeit backtracks upon learning the turbot he prepared earlier was discarded by the inspector for being unlabelled. Front of house manager Beth calls a meeting to discuss the evening's service being overbooked and warns short-fused saucier Freeman about his loud swearing. She then mentions they have a marriage proposal at one table; and also, a booking for celebrity chef Alastair Skye (with whom Andy previously worked) plus his guest, Sara Southworth—a known food critic. Andy is frustrated that Beth didn't forewarn him in time to prepare.

During dinner service, conflict begins to brew in the kitchen and dining room. Beth annoys the kitchen staff with micromanagement; the intended proposal girlfriend Mary's nut allergy was not entered into the system beforehand, irritating sous-chef Carly; Andrea, a black waitress, is treated with hostility by an aggressive racist guest, in contrast to her white colleague, Robyn;^[2][3] young pastry chef Jamie is revealed to be self-harming, but is comforted by mentor Emily; Sophia, a pregnant kitchen porter, spars with lazy, disrespectful co-worker Jake; the French Camille struggles with Andy's scouse and other British regional accents; and Tony feels out of his element at an atypical station.

Tension is further exacerbated when Beth demands the already-stressed chef Carly go off-menu by preparing steak and chips to appease a group of "influencer" guests. When a lamb dish is returned for being supposedly undercooked, Carly berates Beth. She blames Beth for neither properly instructing her staff nor entering guests' food allergies into the system beforehand. She scolds her for failing the restaurant with her insufficiency, and that no staff member likes her. Carly is also outraged to learn indirectly that she will not be getting a wage increase. Beth retreats to the toilets in tears, admitting to her father, the owner, on the phone that she feels inadequate.

Andy serves Alastair's table, where Alastair reveals that Andy owes him £200,000 and wants the payment in full to cover his private losses. Andy explains that he cannot reimburse him. Alastair offers to work together with Andy again and proposes that he should get a 70% share of the restaurant, leaving Andy and his other investors with just the remaining 30% to share between them. Meanwhile, the waiter Dean charms a group of ladies, one of whom inappropriately spanks him. Bartender Billy flirts with Robyn and they make plans to go to the club where Dean is DJing.

Mary suffers a severe allergic reaction, which Camille had inadvertently caused. Taking advantage of the situation, Alastair insists to Andy that Carly be the scapegoat, or else the restaurant—as well as their potential partnership—will fail. After Mary is picked up by an ambulance, the kitchen staff and Beth meet at the back of kitchen to determine the cause. They conclude that it was Andy's fault the food was contaminated: Earlier, he had unwittingly instructed Camille to use a bottle, containing walnut oil, as a substitute garnish. This culminates in Freeman chastising Beth, then lambasting Andy for his incessant tardiness, mistakes, and alcoholism. A fight nearly erupts between Andy and Freeman, which Carly prevents.

The staff return to work as Carly attempts to quell Andy, until he reveals that Alastair insisted he lay the blame on her. Carly subsequently reaches her breaking point and declares she will seek another job. Andy goes to his office, where he has a mental breakdown. He drinks vodka and snorts cocaine. It is also revealed that the water bottle Andy had been repeatedly drinking from throughout the film did, in fact, contain vodka. He calls his ex-wife and asks her to tell his son he loves him, and that he will go to rehab.

After ending the call, Andy disposes the drugs and liquor and goes back to the kitchen but on his way there, he collapses to the ground. The staff's voices are heard calling his name frantically.

Boiling Point was directed by Philip Barantini and written by Barantini and James Cummings.^[4] It is an expansion of a 2019 short film of the same name, also directed by Barantini and starring Graham,^[5][6] which was nominated for British Independent Film Award.^[7]

Boiling Point is a drama film, filmed in one take (which Walters claims is the first one-shot film ever made)^[8] by cinematographer Matthew Lewis.^[9][10] It was shot in a real restaurant called Jones & Sons in Dalston, London,^[11] with the character of Andy Jones being named after Barantini's friend who owns the restaurant.^[11]

The film was significantly improvised or workshopped, rather than fully scripted.^[8] There were two weeks of rehearsal for the film, one with the camera man and director; and the second with the full cast. This was followed by one week of filming. It was planned to do two takes per night, but the crew only did four takes in total, selecting the third take as the final film. It was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, just before a lockdown.^[12] The film wrapped in March 2020.^[11]

The film premiered at the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on 23 August 2021,^[13] and in the UK at the London Film Festival on 10–11 October 2021.^[14][10]

It was released in UK cinemas on 7 January 2022.^[7]

The film was released on free-to-air streaming channels Channel 4 in the UK and SBS on Demand in Australia in September 2023.^[15][16]

Boiling Point is a 2019 short film directed by Philip Barantini and starring Stephen Graham^[38][39]. It is a one-shot film set in a restaurant kitchen during the busy run-up to Christmas. The film was the basis of the later 2021 film and 2023 television programme of the same name.

A continuation TV series, also titled Boiling Point, began airing on BBC One in October 2023,^[40] with Graham, Robinson, and Walters reprising their roles. Barantini directed the first two episodes, with James Cummings returning as writer.^[41][42]