|
DOUGH Send This Review to a Friend
Sometimes it is just pleasurable to sit back and enjoy a story that pushes the expected buttons in the cliché department but is so basically good-hearted, contains winsome performances and can make us laugh. “Dough” is such a movie, all the more welcome for forging a bond between a Jewish baker and his young Muslim assistant at a time when mutual understanding is a prized but generally elusive goal.
Jonathan Pryce, who can be relied upon for good performances, makes the most of his role here as Nat, who operates a kosher bakery in a London neighborhood and has a loyal following. The trouble is that a mean-spirited developer wants his property.
Pryce is a delight to watch as he goes through his regular paces. Suddenly he is faced with the need to hire a replacement for his apprentice who leaves for another job. Along comes Jerome Holder as Ayyash, a young African immigrant and a Muslim. Nat is skeptical, but what the hell—give it a try.
The film, directed by John Goldschmidt and scripted by Jonathan Benson and Jez Freedman, soon bakes a cliché into the plot, as Ayyash, who deals in pot, accidentally gets some into the baked goods. Eureka! Sales increase. The taste is infinitely better for Nat’s customers, while he has no inkling of why there is a business rush. A tough drug-dealer for whom Ayyash has been working puts pressure on him. The developer gets wind of what’s going on. Nat’s business is threatened. Rest assured, all will work out.
In the process there is much good-natured fun, and we see a bond developing between Nat and Ayyash, one of the appealing aspects of “Dough.” Holder is excellent as the immigrant, and one can relax and be amused even while recognizing how pat the formula is. Cast members include Ian Hart, Philip Davis, Pauline Collins and Malachi Kirby.
“Dough,” course, has double meaning here, both as used in baking and as greedily sought by the money-hungry developer and those wanting to profit from drugs. What director Goldschmidt and the screenwriters achieve is finding the human qualities inherent in relations between individuals, and that’s a respectable achievement. A Menemsha Films release. Reviewed April 29, 2016.
|