As a foodie, there is one film I can’t wait to see and that’s Boiling Point – starring Stephen Graham as a chef on the brink of, well, just about everything.
There have been rave reviews for the film that comes in a long line of well-received, low budget Brit pics. More impressive perhaps is that it was filmed in one take and therefore really does convey the warts and all nature of working in a kitchen with no let-up.
And I think it will be a good learning tool for anyone considering a career in catering, as it would appear to cover everything from nut allergies to an environmental health visit, a food critic to a celebrity chef. It would appear to have everything and is perhaps essential viewing for anyone about to undertake work experience or a work placement in an unknown kitchen…. But then again perhaps not.
Over on the small screen, I must be among the thousands who have been desperate for the final series of Peaky Blinders, which will also feature Stephen Graham – a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire, perhaps! As a Brummie, I am proud of the city’s heritage and fascinated by its history which is what draws me to Peaky Blinders, based on the flat cap gangs that were Brum’s answer to the Sicilian mafia. Some of my friends are too squeamish to watch because of the violence depicted in the series. Well, while TV can sensationalise many topics, this is definitely not one. Historian Carl Chinn has spent many years unearthing the true Peaky Blinders and they turn out to be just as violent, if not more so, than anything you see on screen. My main quibble with the production is the fact that many scenes are filmed in Liverpool but at least the Brummie accents are finely tuned now.
Another prominent Birmingham figure getting the big screen makeover is former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Judged, and ridiculed almost entirely, by his attempt to negotiate peace with Hitler, delivering those immortal words “I believe it is peace for our time,” Chamberlain was born into politics, his father Joseph being one of Brum’s founding fathers and a Victorian Cabinet minister.
However, I hope the new film will look more kindly on Neville, who was instrumental in limiting the hours worked by women and children, introducing holiday pay and encouraging slum clearance and rent controls. There is a lot to be proud about. And no, he isn’t played by Stephen Graham but Jeremy Irons. Catch Munich: The Edge of War on Netflix from 21 January.
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