Dir: Alonso Ruizpalacios. With: Raúl Briones Carmona, Rooney Mara, Anna Díaz. Mexico-USA 2024. 139 mins. English, Spanish with English subtitles.
Loosely based on Arnold Wesker’s 1959 play The Kitchen, Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios (Güeros) moves the action to New York, and a busy Times Square restaurant called The Grill.
New to the city, Estela (Anna Díaz) pitches up seeking work. When money goes missing from the till, ambitious Pedro (Raúl Briones) comes under suspicion. Meanwhile, waitress Julia (Rooney Mara) grapples with her own commitments. Stylishly shot in black and white, and informed by the director’s own experience working in a London kitchen, La Cocina is a claustrophobic, yet captivating portrait of life behind the scenes. It pays tribute to the immigrant staff who keep the restaurant going amid the relentless pace and The Grill’s own complex hierarchy.
We might be feeling a bit stuffed with restaurant dramas, but La Cocina makes The Bear look like a cuddly cub and Boiling Point like a gentle simmer. Jonathan Romney The Guardian
