Adam Jones wants a third Michelin star. That is the whole engine of Burnt, and it barely turns over. Bradley Cooper plays Jones as a wrecked, arrogant chef trying to rebuild his reputation in London after a meltdown in Paris. The movie wants to be a tense drama about ambition and recovery. Mostly, it just wants to watch Cooper shout at people.
Trailer, via Roadshow Films.
Adam Jones’s Fall From Grace
Jones destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He shucked a million oysters in New Orleans to get clean, then moved to London to start over. His goal: lead a top restaurant toward three Michelin stars. The setup is simple and promising. The execution is not.
The People Around Him
Jones finds his old mentor’s maître d’hôtel, Tony Balerdi, now running a hotel. He spots his old sous-chef Helene, who dismisses him for his arrogance. He runs into Michel, a former colleague whose restaurant Jones sabotaged out of envy. He faces his ex-drug dealer, who wants money. And he convinces Simone, a famed critic, to eat at the hotel.
Simone’s Review Changes Everything
Simone’s favorable review pushes Tony to renovate the kitchen and hire Jones as head chef. Jones agrees to weekly drug tests with Dr. Rosshilde, though he refuses therapy. Helene eventually joins the team after being fired from her old job. The setup is clever. The payoff is thin.
Opening Night Goes Wrong
The grand opening is a disaster. Jones closes early and humiliates Helene publicly, blaming her for the failure. The scene is meant to show his cruelty. It mostly shows a director unable to stage a decent dinner service.
What Works, What Doesn’t
Cooper carries the film with raw energy. But the script wastes that energy on scenes that don’t earn it. The supporting cast — Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson — is strong. They’re given little to do beyond react to Jones’s tantrums.
Jamie Dornan’s Deleted Scenes
Jamie Dornan played Leon Sweeney in the film. His scenes were cut entirely from the final version.
The Numbers
- Director: John Wells
- Writers: Steven Knight, Michael Kalesniko
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Release date: October 30, 2015
- Distributor: The Weinstein Company
- Gross: $36.6 million
Our Verdict
Burnt is a hollow, repetitive film that mistakes shouting for drama. It has a great premise and a solid cast. Neither survives the finished product. The movie never digs beneath Jones’s surface anger to show why he behaves this way. It just lets him behave badly and calls it ambition.
The film is a missed opportunity. Cooper is better than this. So is the material. But Burnt settles for a loud, unpleasant portrait of a man who can’t stop hurting people around him.
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