Imbalanced Breakfast

I recently watched an oddball British movie from a few years back, Toast. It's a loosely autobiographical film chronicling the childhood of chef and food writer Nigel Slater. I say "loosely" because Slater's stepsisters have publicly criticized the film for its inaccuracies, and even the film itself acknowledges at the beginning that it's based on a child's memories, and therefore may be somewhat suspect.

The movie follows a very young Nigel through the loss of his mother to terminal disease. She was a kindly woman, but unable to cook anything more involved than the titular slice of toast. After her death, Nigel's father is then seduced by the scheming Mrs. Potter, an accomplished cook who knows that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. A cooking rivalry develops between Potter and Nigel, continuing well into Nigel's adolescence.

The draw here was the cast, or two people in particular. Helena Bonham Carter plays Mrs. Potter, and is a wonderful villain. She's alternately sweet and vicious, and altogether different from her darker turns in movies like Sweeney Todd or the Harry Potter series. The teenage Nigel is played by Freddie Highmore, and his welcome entrance into the movie doesn't come until essentially the final act. (Newcomer Oscar Kennedy, who plays Young Nigel, is simply not capable of the nuance that Highmore brings to the part.)

There are some good moments of humor throughout the movie, and one or two well presented sentimental scenes. But the whole movie is brought down by structural problems. The first half hour of the movie builds up to the death of Nigel's mother, but delays the ultimate conflict of the movie between Nigel and Mrs. Potter. If it's a movie about their rivalry, then it doesn't start at the right dramatic time. But the final act of the story implies a larger coming of age story, including exploration of Nigel's sexuality and finding his path to a job as a chef... only to ultimately hand wave those details with brief on-screen captions just before the end credits roll. If this is meant to be a movie about Nigel finding his way in life, then the movie doesn't end at the right dramatic time.

It's a fun one to watch for the performances of Helena Bonham Carter and Freddie Highmore, but it's not either actor's best work. I grade Toast a C-.