‘The Kitchen’ Review: Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya’s Impassioned Stand For Community Against Capitalism
variety.comGuy Lodge Film Critic 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.
If the lean screenplay (by Kaluuya alongside “Calm With Horses” writer Joe Murtagh) somewhat runs out of gas by the finale, the film’s persuasive world-building and fiery political ire keep it compelling.
Netflix will release “The Kitchen” — a fitting, resonant closer to this year’s London Film Festival — in early 2024. Call it the exasperated payoff from 13 years of Conservative austerity, but British cinema feels in a notably pessimistic place.
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