La Cocina - Film Review

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La Cocina is set over the course of a busy day in a tourist-trap restaurant in Times Square. The focus is back of house, where chefs (most of them undocumented immigrants) toil to keep The Grill (the restaurant's innocuous name) pumping out its uninspiring menu of burgers, pasta and pizza. Mexican director Alonzo Ruizpalacios' La Cocina is ambitious, both technically and storywise, and the end result is a melodramatic arthouse tragedy which is thoroughly mesmerising.



To get us into the kitchen, Ruizpalacios uses Estela (Anna Diaz), an immigrant from Mexico who is looking for a job at The Grill based on a tenuous connection with one of the chefs. Estela finds her way inside the restaurant and, after a ludicrous mix-up, and despite speaking no English and being undocumented, lands a job. She is sent immediately to the kitchen in time for the lunch rush.

Estela's connection is Pedro (Raul Briones) and as soon as the pair reconnect (they're from the same town in Mexico), the film becomes more about Pedro. He's a talented chef but also a hothead on notice for a recent run-in with a colleague. But Pedro's got even more going on. He's in a relationship with a waitress named Julia (played by Rooney Mara) who is pregnant. Julia wants to have an abortion, and although Pedro hints at a desire to keep the baby, he gives Julia $800 for the procedure.

Which is interesting because that day at The Grill a bookkeeper has discovered that $800 is missing from the tills. The manager (played by Eduardo Olmos) launches an investigation, interviewing everyone and not taking long to learn the secret of Julia and Pedro, who become prime suspects. Under strain, Pedro begins acting out in the kitchen, leading to threats of dismissal. Everyone on staff feels the pressure and on this day the kitchen will tip over into tumult.

Loosely based on the 1957 English play The Kitchen, La Cocina is a dazzling piece of cinema. Shot in vivid black and white (with the odd burst of colour), the film is presented with notable stylistic flourishes - a tracking shot in the kitchen following the cooks down the line and the waitresses dancing in and out is amazing, one of many memorable compositions.

The script is sometimes less palatable. From Estela fluking her way into a job, to the resolution of the missing till money, there's silliness in some of the twists. It's a shame because there's also fine acting, including from Raul Briones as Pedro, a richly woven character, drawn to highlight the frustration of the immigrant experience. Rooney Mara is also in top form as Julia, delivering a spellbinding turn.

La Cocina has much to say about how the US treats its immigrants, much to say about those who profit from exploiting immigrants. Much to say also about how corrupt and cynical the restaurant business can be. And there may well be too much stuffed into the script, but this is an expansive and enthralling film, flaws and all. It's well worth seeing - though you'll probably want to skip dinner afterwards.

La Cocina is in cinemas May 15.

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