The Kitchen

A British film by first time director Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) alongside co-director Kibwe Tavares, The Kitchen is set in a dystopian future not too far from now. Tensions run high in a London housing project called the Kitchen due to the harsh conditions and notably from the oppressive tactics of the law enforcement. Most want to get out including Izi (Kane ‘Kano’ Robinson, Top Boy) who reluctantly takes a young kid, Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman), under his wing and tries to keep him out of trouble whilst looking out for his own future. Out now on Netflix.

Working in a funeral parlour aiming to move out of the project Izi meets a young boy Benji, whose mum has recently passed away and someone he knew from the Kitchen. Benji has nowhere to go and without a mother and with no father figure around it’s down to Izi to keep an eye out for him and keep him from straying to the cool biker gangs. Meanwhile the law enforcement agency continue a violent regime of raids on the estate aiming to shut down the community, which is holding out against its closure.

It’s a vibrant portrayal of a futuristic London done with minimalistic effort but with maximum effect. The architectural designs, with the housing project at its focal point, capture a futurescape rooted in the present but adding some subtle visual effects of holograms and drones for a Bladerunneresque style depiction of a run down estate and its surrounding shanty town.

There are strong performances from Grime music pioneer Kane ‘Kano’ Robinson (Top Boy) and a young debutant Jedaiah Bannerman who build a fatherly son bond from their Kitchen experience together. There’s also a ‘non-actor’ celebrity touch with footballer Ian Wright as DJ Lord Kitchener, who plays the good vibes on the radio for the community and who is also the social messenger giving out subterranean information over the public speaker system.

This is a grand marker laid down by actor come director Daniel Kaluuya alongside his collaborative partner here Kibwe Tavares that has a strong social message on inner city social issues, with a big heart and a vibrant back beat, it’s bound to resonate with film fans.