Earlier this summer, we got our first look at The Kitchen, and reviews are now pouring in following the film's screening at the BFI London Film Festival.
Following its screening the reviews are all praising Daniel Kaluuya's (Black Panther, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) first directorial effort.
SciFi Now gave the film 3 out of 5 stars: "The narrative may tread a well-worn path but it’s all delivered with compelling political conviction, cheeky humour and a lot of heart. The great casting choices too breathe refreshing life into the dystopian fiction genre."
The Guardian also gave the film 3 out of 5 stars: "There’s a rich mix of ingredients in this heartfelt and likably acted film from co-directors Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya, set in a chaotic, favela-type London housing estate of the near future, nicknamed “the Kitchen”. It takes something from the French banlieue movies of Mathieu Kassovitz and Ladj Ly, while running a seedier and more downbeat version of the postmodern alienation of Total Recall or Blade Runner."
The Hollywood Reporter was a little more critical of the film's script in its review: "Admittedly, there are not-quite-square corners in the script, by Kaluuya and Joe Murtagh (Calm With Horses), which makes the material feel like it was constructed from a screenwriting flatpack kit, the kind issued from vast, quality-controlled narrative warehouses run by screenwriting workshops and producers keen to plant predictable emotional beats and add “relevance."
Variety focused on the fact that the film uses its high sci-fi concept to explore human emotion: "Arriving just as Britain’s dire housing crisis is set to be a key campaign issue in next year’s long-awaited general election, “The Kitchen” offers a solemnly affecting look at what might happen if it’s left to fester. Zooming through a dystopian London in what seems the too-near future, this sharply accomplished feature directing debut from Kibwe Tavares and actor Daniel Kaluuya surprisingly eschews high-concept genre plotting to go with its elaborate sci-fi scene-setting, instead narrowing to an intimate, humane study of Black male bonding in a time of systemic social oppression."
IGN's review was full of praise, giving the film 8 out of 10: "The Kitchen is a powerful and worryingly plausible look at a futuristic London where all social housing is illegal. With a powerful lead performance from Kane Robinson, a striking aesthetic and witty dialogue, the 98-minute runtime zips by with aplomb and its ending packs an almighty punch. The film proves an extremely promising feature debut for co-directors Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares and a stark warning of the human cost of occupation and decimation of community."
Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 80% approval rating from 15 reviews, with an average composite score of 6.5 out of 10.
The Kitchen is said to be set in a future where, "the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits. All forms of social housing have been eradicated and only The Kitchen remains: a community that refuses to move out of the place they call home. The film follows Izi (Kane Robinson), who lives there by necessity and is desperately trying to find a way out, and 12-year-old Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman), who has lost his mother and is searching for a family, as they struggle to forge a relationship in a system that is stacked against them."
Kaluuya previously told What To Watch, "The idea came from when I was sitting in my barber’s shop listening to a boy boasting about doing these million-pound heists. I dug into it a bit deeper and then I saw that these kids are doing it for £200. They were robbing millions of pounds of jewels for £200. That says something profound about where we’re at at the moment in this city."
The film will receive a theatrical run in the UK before releasing worldwide on Netflix.
The cast includes Kane Robinson, Jedaiah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jr, Teija Kabs, Demmy Ladipo, Cristale, and BackRoad Gee.
Michael Fassbender is an executive producer.