Wild At Heart
Here is a movie for fans of cooking though it doesn’t seem that way at first. "Toast" is based on the memoir of food writer Nigel Slater, the movie blends itself as a mix of 1960’s British nostalgia and a story of the way food influenced the life of a young Slater.
Things start off with Nigel's mother (Victoria Hamilton) who is perhaps one of the worse cooks in the world. The typical dinner is canned foods boiled in water which does not impress young Nigel (Oscar Kennedy) who keeps trying to get his mother to buy fresh foods to know avail. The only dinner she has truly mastered in that old standby toast which turnsd into a comfort food for the family. When his mother dies, Nigel is devastated and he is left with his father (Ken Stott) to take care of each other.
That precarious balance is ruined when his father hires a new housekeeper Mrs. Potter (Helena Bonham Carter) who uses her curves and her wonderful cooking to ensnare Nigel's father. He is later mortified to find they are are moving to the country to live together. Nigel’s only safety net is the Domestic Science class where he learns to truly cook and starts a mini war between him and Mrs Potter vying for the culinary affections of his father which can be quite snippy at times.
Mr Slater soon finds himself gaining weight and becoming more miserable as Nigel (now portrayed by Freddie Highmore) tries to use his talents to cook at a local pub before eventually leaving for the big city to pursue a job at the famous Savoy Hotel kitchens.
This is a purely British film with some wonderful performances. I esp enjoyed Carter (who has traded Sweeney’s Meat pies for lemon meringue) and has some wonderful moments as an fish out of water in Mr Slaters more high society ways. Both actor who play Nigel also have some fine moments and never stray too far from a confused teenager trying to find himself while defending the memory of his mother.
This is one of the more interesting autobiographical movies I have seen as it doesn’t beat you over the head with making sure you know who Nigel is. Until the closing caption about what Nigel has done since, I had no idea I was watching an autobiographical film which is rather pleasing. I do recommend this film for those that enjoy the solid British dramatic comedies.
My grade is a A-
