La Cocina (MA) - 139 minutes

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Such goes the popular proverb.

That may be the case for those working in the sweat shop that is the heavily patronised eatery The Grill in Times Square, but they are not in a position to do so.

The Grill employs many illegals who are desperate not only to keep their jobs, but to get their papers to enable them to legally remain in the USA.

One of them is Mexican Pedro (Raul Briones), a cook who is both reckless and passionate.

He works under a tyrannical head chef (Lee Sellars) who controls the kitchen, where there are many workstations.

Notwithstanding his cooking skills, Pedro is known to be a stirrer and troublemaker.

Last night he got into a fight with another cook, Mark (James Waterston), one of the few Americans who works at The Grill, pulling a kitchen knife on him.

Now, the head chef has given Pedro a strict warning. Three strikes and he is out … and Pedro is quickly using these up on his current shift.

He is also dealing with a romantic entanglement with an American waitress at The Grill, Julia (Rooney Mara).

In short, he has knocked her up. Ten weeks pregnant, she wants to go to a clinic that afternoon and have an abortion. He wants her to keep the unborn child.

He cares for her and she him, but there are things about her that he doesn’t know.

To make matters worse, The Grill’s accountant has just discovered a shortfall in last night’s takings of $823.78.

He has failed to notify the man who hires staff, Luis Villa (Eduardo Olmos), and now both must face the ire of the boss, Mr Rashid (Oded Fehr).

Mr Rashid is convinced a member of staff has stolen the money, but wants to deal with the matter inhouse, which involves Luis Villa quizzing employees one by one.

Suspicion quickly falls upon Pedro, who has gifted Julia a bundle of cash.

Entering this heated environment is a young Mexican woman, Estela (Anna Diaz), not yet 20, who doesn’t speak English.

Pedro’s mother, who still lives in Mexico with his father, told her to seek out Pedro when Estela arrived in America and, accordingly, she has done so.

Estela previously worked in a highly regarded restaurant, but she has no idea what she is walking into.

La Cocina is a bold and belligerent film, shot artistically, almost entirely in black and white and in different ratios, that, at times, all but takes your breath away.

Writer/director Alonso Ruizpalacios started daydreaming about this movie when he worked as a dishwasher and a waiter in downtown London during his student days.

That was also when he first read Arnold Wesker’s play The Kitchen, upon which the script for the picture is loosely based.

Ruizpalacios says reading the play at the same time he was working in an industrial kitchen made the experience more interesting and the work-days bearable.

He was struck by the complex caste system that still exists in kitchens and that are an essential part of what keeps them functioning.

As he puts it, as with the crew in a ship, hierarchy is not something that is taken lightly behind those swinging restaurant doors.

The Grill is a big tourist trap in the centre of New York City, where immigrants seek work because they are taken in without papers and the tips are good. The work is hard and the food is awful.

Ruizpalacios wanted to show what goes on in places like these and he has ratcheted up the mega drama to 11.

In short, all hell breaks loose time and time again in a pressure cooker environment.

Amidst some playful and vitriolic jibes, there is hyper aggression and unacceptable work practices.

There is a pecking order, in which migrants are seen to be second class citizens.

Spot fires explode and need to be brought under control, before the ultimate eruption.

I appreciated the detail and complexity of it all.

As Pedro, Raul Briones is a powerful tornado who won’t be tamed and the movie is primarily built around him and his interactions.

Rooney Mara is excellent too as a woman caught in an invidious situation, As Julia, she has needs and wants, as does Pedro, but although she feels for him, they are not on the same plane.

Around them, the other players also pull their weight, creating a maelstrom of discontent that is integral to the movie.

If you have ever thought of working in a busy eatery, surely La Cocina will put you off.

As a film though, it is compelling and crazy.

Rated MA, it scores an 8 out of 10.