Toast

Little Nigel (Oscar Kennedy) develops a great passion for cooking and delicious food at an early age. Too bad his mother (Victoria Hamilton) can only manage toast in the kitchen. Even heating up canned food ends in a culinary disaster for her. When his mother dies, Nigel tries to take care of his father (Ken Scott) and make sure there is always something edible on the table. But his well-intentioned attempts don't go down well with his father, which is why he hires a new household help in the form of Mrs. Potter (Helena Bonham Carter), who also turns out to be a first-rate cook. Nigel is torn by his feelings. On the one hand, he admires Mrs. Potter's talent and adores her lemon meringue pie. On the other hand, he doesn't like the fact that his father seems to be developing stronger and stronger feelings for the resolute woman, pushing him more and more into the background. And so, as a growing teenager (now played by Freddie Highmore), he sets about learning to cook as well. But whether that's enough to get him back in his father's good graces seems questionable.

Toast is based on the autobiography of Nigel Slater, the hugely popular TV chef and cookbook author in England, and was made for British television in 2010. It is true that the fact that the film is only a TV production can be seen in the staging here and there. But there are also many moments that are very much at home in the cinema. The very coherent 60s and 70s décor, accompanied by a soundtrack consisting primarily of old songs by Dusty Springfield, or even the tasty shots of various delicacies that make the viewer's mouth water, come across very well on the big screen.

What lifts the film above the usual TV level, however, are the great actors. Here, of course, Helena Bonham Carter must be mentioned first, as she leaves a lasting impression as the quirky Mrs. Potter. Whereas this character could have easily degenerated into a one-dimensional character or even a caricature, Helena Bonham Carter gives her the necessary nuances to turn the not always likeable cook into a pleasantly multi-layered character. But also the other actors, from little Oscar Kennedy to Ken Scott, show acting skills on a very high level. The scene between little Nigel and his father in Nigel's nursery after his mother's death is - without any dialogue - probably one of the most poignant and in its sadness also one of the most beautiful moments of the film.

Although Nigel Slater's childhood and youth were not really marked by cheerfulness and happiness, the film version of his autobiography is infused with a refreshing lightness and wonderful humour. Toast is British feel-good cinema with great actors, beautiful images and a high nostalgia value. If you like culinary cinema of the particularly charming kind, you should definitely not miss this film. Just don't make the mistake of watching Toast hungry - because then some scenes are likely to have unpleasant side effects! Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp