42 Grams
Directed by Jack C. Newell
After working at some of the world’s best restaurants, Jake’s aggressive personality kept him from finding a kitchen to call home. A chef without a restaurant, Jake began cooking fifteen-course menus out of his apartment. Alongside his dedicated wife Alexa, their “underground” restaurant becomes a foodie hot spot. The experience is unique: they present refined flavors while dirty dishes soak in their bedroom. A year later, they take out a lease on an abandoned chicken joint to open a real restaurant, 42 Grams. The film follows them developing menus, hiring and firing staff, shows Jake’s temper, the strains on their marriage, and what they risk in their pursuit of the American Dream.
Reviews
Give it your all and you can lose it all-that's the lesson, accompanied by the frenetic Philip Glass-like string arrangements that have become de riguer in the now ubiquitous genre of tortured-chef portrait.