‘The Kitchen’: Daniel Kaluuya’s Directorial Debut Wows London Film Festival
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The most gripping dystopias are the ones that feel alarmingly close to reality, offering a glimpse into a future we’ll soon inhabit. That is the world created by Daniel Kaluuya in his feature directorial debut. And while it runs you through the gamut of emotions, you’ll end up full of warmth while also unmistakably concerned. It will also leave you pondering one other question: Is there anything Daniel Kaluuya can’t do?
The Kitchen, co-directed by Kibwe Tavares, takes place in London sometime in the near future, where gentrification’s spread across the city like a plague, eradicating local communities and cultures without care. The film follows Izi (Kane Robinson), a solitary grafter trying to make his way out of the titular Kitchen — the last bastion of community and social housing in the city — to a quiet life of perceived safety and comfort in one of the many gentrified apartments on offer. Through his job at an ecological funeral home, he encounters the son of a deceased former partner, Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman), and their lives slowly become entangled. When Benji arrives at The Kitchen looking for his dad, Izi takes Benji under his wing, while trying to stave off the growing affection he feels for the boy. Intertwined with the father/son tale is the fight for The Kitchen itself, the efforts of a group of freedom fighters within the neighborhood to keep the area fed and protected, and the barbaric government-sanctioned police raids that aim to vanquish the community and the people in it.
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For a first film, The Kitchen brings a lot of ideas to the table, and while they’re not all flawlessly executed, it demonstrates very clearly that Kaluuya is a generational talent, whether performing in front of the camera, penning a script, or directing the whole damn thing. There is such clarity of vision here, a rare feat from a first-timer, that it feels as though it was crafted by a seasoned pro. The script is tight and full of humanity, never falling into the trap of being too earnest, and blends some genuine comedy with sequences of pathos and heartbreak. Everything feels grounded without an ounce of pretension.
Beyond the page and DP Wyatt Garfield’s roving camera work, flying through both the bustling Kitchen and santized streets of Central London, the cast of The Kitchen shines in front of the camera. Kane Robinson, a.k.a. Kano, builds on his terrific turn in Top Boy, bringing his character’s internal struggle between fighting for his community and trying to find some semblance of a life lived without fear of police brutality. Add in a figure like Benji entering his life, and that conflict rages deeper, eliciting a dynamic lead performance that fuels the film.
He’s matched by the debut of Jedaiah Bannerman, a performer with a bright future ahead of him. Bannerman goes blow-for-blow with Robinson on-screen, never looking as though the lights are too bright for him, while still imbuing his Benji with an incredible sense of personal loss as he searches for a figure to help guide him through life — wavering between the guardianship of Izi or the militia whose sole duty is the protection of The Kitchen and her residents, no matter the cost.
There’s a personality to The Kitchen that seeps from its every pore, its every frame, and every line of dialogue or impeccably-timed needle drop. That personality is London — unashamed, unabashed, and unafraid. London thrives not for its gentrification or its wealth, but its embrace of vibrant communities and commitment to multiculturalism and diversity. With flags hanging from the terraces, the souk-esque marketplace, and the dancehall at its heart, The Kitchen housing estate feels like a beautiful amalgamation of what makes London so special. In the words of co-director Kibwe Tavares, “If you took all the interesting things that make London, London, and squashed them into one place, that’s The Kitchen.” Juxtapose that with the cold sterility of the outside world, stripping away any character or culture, and the message of the film is clear: The Kitchen is fighting back against the erosion of community and the rise of homogeneity in Britain’s capital, viscerally highlighting the importance of family, community, and individuality.
The Kitchen premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and will hit Netflix in late 2023.
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