Daniel Kaluuya’s directorial debut alongside Kibwe Tavares, a sci-fi movie called “The Kitchen,” wasn’t exactly a hit. While critics were fond of the movie, giving the film a Rotten Tomatoes score well over 85%, Netflix viewers weren’t nearly as happy with it. “The Kitchen” landed an audience score of less than 50%. It’s true that the film made it onto Netflix’s Top 10 charts the week of its release, but compared to some other British Netflix Original films (such as “Luther: Fallen Sun” or “Persuasion”), its showing was pretty anemic.
With that being said, there’s plenty to love about his movie. Although this story is mostly grounded in reality (complete with some all-too-realistic depictions of gentrification), it also offers some fascinating sci-fi concepts. Just look at the deceptively benign Life After Life program, which seems at first like a cathartic way to see off your dead loved ones but turns out to have a much more sinister purpose.
The world of “The Kitchen” will reel you in. Rather than bombarding audiences with exposition, the film simply immerses viewers in its universe and lets them soak it in. You will fall in love with the tightly-knit community living in the tenement known as “the Kitchen.” In particular, it’s impossible not to like the grandfatherly Lord Kitchener (Ian Wright), whose friendly radio presence unites everyone in the Kitchen. You have probably never seen a dystopian film as gentle, inviting, and realistic as this one.
