Burnt (film)

Burnt
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Wells
Screenplay by	Steven Knight
Story by	Michael Kalesniko
Produced by	Stacey Sher Erwin Stoff John Wells
Starring	Bradley Cooper Sienna Miller Omar Sy Daniel Brühl Matthew Rhys Uma Thurman Emma Thompson
Cinematography	Adriano Goldman
Edited by	Nick Moore
Music by	Rob Simonsen
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company
Release dates	October 22, 2015 (2015-10-22) (New York City premiere) October 30, 2015 (2015-10-30) (United States)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English French
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$35.7 million

Burnt is a 2015 American drama film directed by John Wells and written by Steven Knight, from a story by Michael Kalesniko. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Matthew Rhys, Riccardo Scamarcio, Alicia Vikander, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson. Burnt marked Cooper and Miller's second on-screen collaboration following the 2014 war film American Sniper. The film was released on October 30, 2015, by The Weinstein Company.

Plot

Three years ago, Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) worked at one of the premier restaurants in Paris, which his mentor Jean-Luc owned. His drug use and manic drive for perfection caused him to implode, taking the restaurant and a number of his friends’ careers with him. Adam disappeared, sobered up, and sentenced himself to shucking one million oysters at a bar in New Orleans. When Adam finishes shucking his millionth oyster he returns to London with a plan to regain his former glory and go for his third Michelin star.

After arriving in London, Adam begins to look up his old colleagues. Jean-Luc’s former maître d'hôtel Tony (Daniel Brühl) now manages his father’s hotel. Adam wants to take over the hotel’s restaurant, but Tony doesn’t trust him after his behavior in Paris. Frankly, he thought Adam had died, especially because he didn’t show up for Jean-Luc’s funeral. Adam had no idea Jean-Luc died and feels deep remorse for how he hurt his mentor. Next Adam visits his friend Conti (Henry Goodman) at the restaurant Conti owns. He takes a liking to Conti’s sous-chef Helene (Sienna Miller), but Helene finds him old-fashioned and unbearably conceited. Adam locates Michel (Omar Sy), another of his friends from Jean-Luc’s. When Michel opened his own restaurant, Adam felt deeply betrayed. He released rats in Michel’s kitchen and reported him to a health inspector, which led to the restaurant's closure. Michel forgives Adam and agrees to work for him. Adam pays a visit to Reece’s, a cutting edge eatery run by Reece (Matthew Rhys), with whom he has a long standing rivalry. Reece does not forgive him. Adam also plans to employ another Jean-Luc protege, Max (Riccardo Scamarcio), after he is released from prison. Unfortunately, Adam’s reappearance in Europe attracts the attention of his former drug dealer. Eventually, Tony kicks Adam out of his family’s hotel, where he’d been staying, so Adam seeks out chef-on-the-rise David (Sam Keeley). David agrees to work at Adam's restaurant and let Adam stay in his apartment.

Adam contacts famed restaurant critic Simone (Uma Thurman) and asks her to dine at Tony's hotel. Tony flips out when he sees Simone. Adam appears in the kitchen and asks Tony for the opportunity to prove himself. Tony, having no other option, agrees. Simone’s review of Adam’s food is favorable enough that Tony and his father agree to renovate their hotel’s kitchen and hire Adam as the head chef. They do require Adam to submit to weekly drug tests with Tony’s psychiatrist Dr. Rosshilde (Emma Thompson), but Adam refuses her offer to see her privately. He throws himself into preparing for his restaurant Langhams’ grand opening. Max is released from prison and joins Adam’s team. Helene rebuffs further job offers until Conti gently fires her. He sends her to the hotel’s kitchen, where Helene tears into Adam for getting her fired. Adam offers her a much higher salary and she agrees to work at Langhams. The opening night turns into such a disaster that Adam closes the restaurant early. He becomes furious with everyone, especially Helene. After humiliating her in front of her colleagues and becoming physically aggressive with her, Helene quits.

Adam goes on talk shows to generate interest in the restaurant. He manages to bring another famous restaurant critic to eat at Langhams. The critic’s favorable review cements Langhams as one of London’s new go-to eateries and drives Reece into a frothing rage. Tony visits Helene to convince her to return to Langhams. He offers double her salary and some insight on Adam’s behavior: he grew up in an unhappy home and has always been volatile but brilliant. Helene agrees and Adam treats her with more respect. However, their relationship hits a bump when Adam refuses Helene's request for an afternoon off to hold a birthday party for daughter Lily (Lexie Benbow-Hart). A few days later, Tony enters the kitchen and asks Adam to make a birthday cake. Adam refuses and Tony says a diner has requested one and orders him to make it. The kitchen staff explain that Tony learned about Helene's denied request and offered to watch Lily at the hotel. Adam delivers the cake to Lily in the dining room and makes an effort to connect with her, improving his relationship with Helene.

Once Langhams has established itself, Tony and Adam prepare to earn a Michelin star. Adam continues to fend off his drug dealer’s collectors and to see Dr. Rosshilde for drug tests. He remains impervious to her judgments about his sobriety and his perfectionism but, when asked, admits he knows Tony is in love with him.

When Adam receives an invitation to the reopening of Reece’s restaurant, he asks Helene to accompany him. Adam and Reece manage to be civil, but the night derails when Adam spots Jean-Luc’s daughter Anne Marie (Alicia Vikander). Reece explains to Helene that they used to date. Adam is surprised when Anne Marie treats him kindly, especially since he abandoned her three years ago and didn’t attend her father’s funeral. Anne Marie has also gotten clean and sober and wants to give Adam her father’s cooking knives. Helene finds him at a fish market next morning after he wandered around the whole night mulling what went wrong in Paris. Jean-Luc was more of a father figure to him than his own dad, and he defined himself by his prowess as a chef. He loved the volatile fast-paced environment of the kitchen and thrived until he didn’t anymore, began using drugs and eventually came unhinged. He now wants to achieve greatness and doesn’t know how to handle failure.

Adam and Helene share their first kiss in front of the restaurant that morning. Tony interrupts them, but he’s not alone. The drug dealer’s henchmen have returned, and they want Adam to go with them. He hands the fish to Helene and leaves with them. Tony tells Helene not to worry because Adam can handle himself. That evening, Helene discovers a beaten Adam outside the kitchen entrance. Tony and Helene want to take Adam to the hospital, but before they can do much more than clean him-up, they learn that two Michelin reviewers have come to Langhams. Everyone rushes about in a frenzy, and Adam barely holds things together. They serve the reviewers’ meals but minutes later, the two uneaten meals are sent back because their soup was too spicy. Michel, who previously assured Adam that he’d checked the soup, reveals he sprinkled additional Cayenne into the soup, as revenge for what Adam did to him in Paris. After Michel leaves, Adam laughs and leaves as well.

Adam wanders around London, climbs onto the railing of Westminster Bridge and seems to consider jumping. Later he arrives at Reece’s restaurant drunk and bangs on the windows until Reece lets him in and he makes a nuisance of himself in the kitchen. When he pulls a small plastic bag over his head and begins weeping, Reece dismisses his kitchen staff, rips the bag off Adam’s head and cradles Adam when he falls to the floor. The next morning, Adam awakens on the kitchen floor while Reece is cooking breakfast. Reece says that he knows Adam is the better cook and still appreciates Adam’s work because it pushes him to keep experimenting. They part on far better terms. Adam visits Dr. Rosshilde and attends his first group therapy session. When he returns to the hotel, he learns that Anne Marie has paid his drug debt. She also gives him her father’s knives and urges him to be good to Helene. Tony and Helene find Adam in his hotel room and share some amazing news: the two men the night before were not Michelin reviewers, although they behaved exactly like them. Adam is so thrilled to have another chance at getting a Michelin star, he kisses Tony. Visibly ruffled by the exchange, Tony leaves Helene with Adam to ensure he doesn't have a concussion and to dress his wounds. The scene ends with Adam and Helene sharing a passionate kiss.

Adam changes the way he runs the kitchen. He listens to Helene and Max's input, and is more supportive of David. When the real Michelin reviewers come to Langhams, he works with the other chefs, especially Helene, to serve a superb meal and receive their third star. The film ends with Adam finally sharing a meal with his chefs and a few laughs.

Cast

• Bradley Cooper as Adam Jones
• Sienna Miller as Helene
• Omar Sy as Michel
• Daniel Brühl as Tony
• Matthew Rhys as Reece
• Alicia Vikander as Anne Marie
• Uma Thurman as Simone
• Emma Thompson as Dr. Rosshilde
• Lily James as Sara
• Riccardo Scamarcio as Max
• Henry Goodman as Conti
• Lexie Benbow-Hart as Lily
• Sarah Greene as Kaitlin

• Sam Keeley as David

Production

Development

In 2013, John Wells was set to direct a cooking comedy film, eventually entitled Burnt, with Bradley Cooper signed to star as a former Paris chef, Adam Jones. Sienna Miller signed as lead actress. Omar Sy, Jamie Dornan, Emma Thompson, Daniel Brühl, Alicia Vikander and Lily James were also set to star in the film. Dornan's appearance was later removed due to cuts and adjustments in the storyline and Lily James's role revealed to be a cameo. Dornan's scenes were added to the home release. The film was originally entitled Chef, and re-titled Adam Jones on July 24, 2014, to avoid confusion with Jon Favreau's film Chef. Uma Thurman joined the cast around this time. According to Deadline.com, as of July 28, 2014, Weinstein was calling the film Untitled John Wells project, until they could decide on a better title. On August 7, 2014, Matthew Rhys was added to the cast, playing chef Jones' rival, Reece. On July 29, 2015, the film was re-titled Burnt.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began July 23, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana, filming for two days. Production then moved to London.

Post-production

On October 2, 2014, Nick Moore was set for the film editing job. During editing of the film, Jamie Dornan's scenes were cut from the finished version. His scenes were later released on the home media release.

Marketing

The first poster, with the new title Burnt, was released on August 7, 2015. Cooper introduced a sneak peek of the film on the Today show on August 10, 2015. The Weinstein Company released the teaser trailer on August 14, 2015. On September 21, 2015, the first international trailer was released. On September 28, 2015, producers released the first full-length trailer for the film and on October 29, 2015, released a clip featuring Vikander and Cooper online.

Release

The film was scheduled to be released on October 2, 2015, but in July 2015, The Weinstein Company moved the release date to October 23, 2015. The plan then was to give the film a limited release on October 23, 2015, before a wide release on October 30, 2015. However, they cancelled the limited release plan and immediately released the film nationwide, on October 30, 2015.

Reception

Box office

As of February 10, 2015, Burnt has grossed $13.7 million in North America and $22 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $35.7 million, against a budget of $20 million.

The film opened on October 30, 2015, alongside Our Brand Is Crisis and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. In its opening weekend, the film was projected to gross $7–9 million from 3,003 theaters. However, it only ended up grossing $5 million, finishing sixth at the box office, and marking the second straight underperforming opener for Cooper, following Aloha ($9.7 million opening against its $37 million budget).

Critical response

Burnt received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Cooper's performance but derided the script and storytelling. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 29%, based on 116 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Burnt offers a few spoonfuls of compelling culinary drama, but they're lost in a watery goulash dominated by an unsavory main character and overdone clichés." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 42 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.

External links

• Official website
• Burnt at IMDb
• Burnt at Box Office Mojo
• Burnt at Rotten Tomatoes