The Kitchen- Five reasons to watch this futuristic drama about inequality and violence on Netflix

Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya makes his directorial debut with The Kitchen, along with co-director Kibwe Tavares. The film is set in the future and features a crumbling London society in which gentrification and privilege have blinded the rich to their own greed.

This has resulted in a terrible ordeal for the working class—living cramped together in unmaintained and slummy social housing. Enter the protagonist Izi, a survivalist, and a young orphan called Benji, with whom he develops a connection.

A deep and poignant story with an action premise, the film is set to drop on Netflix on January 19, 2024. And here are five reasons to watch this dramatic thriller:.

1. The Kitchen is a sharp commentary on the looming possibility of gentrification and massive inequality

Britain is known for her autocratic monarchy and feudal structure of society, at least till the 20th century, before democracy became a thing in modern Europe. But the current flow of socio-political events and social upheavals suggests that a divided society may not be in the distant future.

Also read: The Kitchen trailer – Oscar-winning Daniel Kaluuya's directorial debut explores hunger, hope, and the power of community 

The privilege and wage gap have further widened the chasm between the rich and the working class. And that is exactly what The Kitchen harps on. In a society where the rich live in gleaming buildings while the underprivileged huddle together in a ruthless and slummy social housing complex, violence and crime are bound to reign supreme while gentrified overlords sleep safe.

2. The Kitchen offers serious insight into the ominous future where private housing for the working class ceases to exist

The Kitchen shows a future that no longer has any private houses or properties for the working class; they can no longer afford to have one or live in one. They are forced to cramp together in social housing, where the poor live tightly packed but emotionally alienated from one another, desperate to leave this life where they feel packed inside a can of tuna.

While the privileged enjoy private properties and apartments, crime rates are hitting an all-time high. From robbing food delivery vans to striking jewellery stores to gain good loot, The Kitchen shows pre-teens and adolescents running around, all ganged and knifed up, making a living on the streets in order to survive alone or sustain their family.

3. The Kitchen offers a Purge-like feel with its unrestrained hedonism and open violence

The Kitchen shows a society where laws are ignored and crime prowls the streets. But it is a matter of survival and not choice here, as the street hoodlums steal to eat. In this eat or be eaten world, where life is bleak and no real connections exist, with what they can afford, the common public also parties and indulges in hedonism like there is no tomorrow. Perhaps there isn’t for many of them.

Also read: The Kitchen OTT release date - When and where to watch the Get Out actor’s directorial debut? 

4. The Kitchen ensures proper world-building and immersive cinematography

The Kitchen is good at what it claims—that being 2044 dystopic London, in which the rich and the poor are divided by huge distance between their homes, lifestyles, and financial situations. The strain protagonists Izi and Benji feel from maintaining a connection in such a world is felt by the audience as well, against proper gritty buildings and bleak streets, untouchable, lush upper-class houses, and police brutality. The multiple shots of the bike gangs riding up the streets while doing mini-stunts are bound to mesmerise viewers.

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5. The Kitchen has a personal focus on the relationship between Izi and Benji

Even though almost all viewers can guess the answer from the funeral home itself, the movie takes its time to confirm it. But The Kitchen does so in a sensitive and experimental manner, almost like wearing a new glove for the first time. You know where your fingers go, but you relish the feel of properly inserting them into their compartments before flexing them. Similarly, Izi and Benji take time forming a connection, not because the former may be the latter’s father. It is so that their bond forges in love and not out of familial obligation.