A Review by Mia Humphreys
Tensions are high during the lunch rush at The Grill, a tourist trap restaurant in the heart of Times Square. The soda machine is broken, the chefs and waitresses are clashing and $800 is missing from the till. Suspicion soon falls on undocumented Mexican chef Pedro (Raul Briones) who is dreaming of a better life with waitress Julia (Rooney Mara). LA COCINA is a study of the ever-elusive American Dream and those who chase it.
It has been a big year for dramas set in kitchens, and it’s no wonder – the fast-paced setting lends itself to character-focused drama. LA COCINA joins the pantheon of respected dramas like THE BEAR (2022-) and BOILING POINT (2021), bringing its own refreshing perspective. The film loosely adapts Arnold Wesker’s stage play The Kitchen, with major changes to plot and characters elevating the source material. Despite its origins, LA COCINA feels very cinematic, its theatrical roots only become evident in a well-delivered monologue by chef Nonzo (Motell Foster).
The film initially follows Estella (Anna Diaz), a young Mexican woman looking for employment. Estella is a kind of audience surrogate; it is through her we are thrown head-first into the pandemonium of The Grill’s kitchen. The focus soon pivots to the compelling relationship drama between Pedro and Julia. She is elevated to a symbol in Pedro’s eyes, more like a prize than a person, yet she can’t seem to commit to a future with the charming but volatile troublemaker. This combined with his characterisation as a ‘ticking time bomb’ makes the impending and inevitable fallout of their relationship all the more tragic.
LA COCINA takes place in a dreamy New York City, somewhat outside of time where it is apparently still perfectly acceptable to smoke indoors. The titular kitchen exists in its own isolated little world. The camerawork is masterfully frenetic to demonstrate the pure mayhem of the lunch rush. Characters are framed by the environment or confined within claustrophobic close-ups that reflect their entrapment in a job that offers limited prospects. The seemingly endless stretches of black and white corridors are like labyrinths and tracing their expanse feels like a descent into hell. The rumbling, often ominous score competes with desperate, scrappy voices all clamouring to be heard. It is impeccably choreographed chaos.
LA COCINA is a love letter to the invisible people that prepare our food, granting them the focus and complexity they are so rarely afforded. The subject matter is undeniably heavy, interrogating the false promises of the American Dream and the intersections of race, gender and age in the workplace. The despair is palpable, but the spikey, comedic dialogue keeps the film from becoming overwhelmingly heavy. Just the right balance of ingredients.