I have seen a few posts around on The Bear lately, as well as quite a bit of discussion. I've been a big preoccupied with a ton of different other shows as of late and just hadn't had time to give it a chance. But I noticed it was available on Disney+ today, and with a little bit of free time, I decided to give it a chance. This was a wise decision! I like shows about cooking, the process of food making and the personalities that can be found contributing to it. Anthony Bourdain's travel show Parts Unknown is one of my favourite food and travel shows of all, as well as a few others here and there, including The Great British Bake Off of course. But good food related shows are a bit difficult to find. If they're more focused on reality, they need a good host that understands what they're showing. And fictional shows are of course incredibly difficult to tell stories for. They need to be character driven. They need to understand the food industry. It's why I think shows like The Bear are often a bit of a rarity.
The Bear quickly pulled me in, I instantly found myself appreciating just about every aspect of it. From the directing to the colour grading, even down to the performances and story. This is a really, really good show with a simple premise that manages to remain fresh -- no pun intended -- while each episode handles a different aspect of running a failing food business. It doesn't sound all that interesting, but these are quick, 27 minute episodes that don't hold back in the pacing. This is a show in constant motion, much like the work in a kitchen would be for a chef. Endlessly preparing meals and ingredients and performing various maintenance tasks, trying to get things perfect; even if your team isn't really at your pace. That is one way of saying that The Bear is a show that is insanely chaotic, but I love it for this. It really pulls you in with such constant motion, such loudness, to the point where you yourself start to feel on edge. It's highly effective.
This post may feature a few spoilers in some episodes, so be warned in case that sort of thing bothers you. Though this isn't really much of a show that has a linear story, so far.
The Bear
The Bear starts off by introducing us to our protagonist, a seemingly 30-something working in his cousin's dying restaurant. This first episode is very good. Constantly showing the beauty of Chicago while switching between the beautiful cinematography of food preparation in a kitchen. But it very quickly takes a sudden turn and the pacing only increases from here on. This is no ordinary kitchen, there's absolutely zero teamwork and the owner seems to be totally incapable of managing his staff and business. Just about the only person that has a grasp on reality is our protagonist, who shows a clear passion for cooking and doing things properly, all while being able to manage the marketing side of things in an attempt to bring fresh faces to the business.
This seems to be quite a running theme in the show as each episode shows the various hardships faced in the restauarant as everyone is up in each other's faces, refusing to work together and without any sort of agenda. Our protagonist tries his hardest to use his prior experience in a higher ranking restaurant to show a clear path forward, to which nobody really pays attention. The drama here is strong, up-close cinematography that shows the tightness of a kitchen space, the emotions on the faces of each chef as the tensions rise. The noise is high, the heat is evident. So much arguing over responsibilities and who should do what and when and how. For a show with such short episodes, they certainly feel full of action.
In terms of casting, Jeremy Allen White is perfect as the protagonist of the show, he absolutely fits the role of a messy-haired professional chef full of stress. I haven't really seen him in anything else, but he perfectly suits the role of a character that is highly dysfunctional but also completely devoted to something. Watching him perform is really something, and one of the best performances I have seen in a long time. I don't think I have really seen the other cast members before, but it's White that really stands out. With the most range in his character as we see him at his breaking point, even down to this downtime moments where he just seems completely broken.
I really like seeing this in a character. Their passionate side as well as how devoted they are to the point in which their lives seem to be barely scraping by. But this show isn't entirely serious, there's lots of humour in it; in one episode a group of people are accidentally drugged and sent to sleep with Xanax accidentally falling into the drink mix. The host is actually happy about this given the peace it provides. Though much of the humour comes in the dialogue as we see the characters fighting, some of the dialogue and moments almost seem like they're improvised given how natural they look. Especially with the camera constantly changing perspectives and giving us constant cuts, as if it's filmed from numerous angles with multiple cameras (which it most likely was).
Despite all of the chaos I really like the moments it shows to display the cooking. Really cinematic, very beautiful shots that almost imply that all of that hellish interactivity was worth it. That in the end something really beautiful was produced and enjoyed by someone. And the show displays experimentation too, there's even an episode entirely devoted to one person trying to make the perfect donut with inspiration from their childhood, even looking at colour theory to find the right look visually. And there are episodes where the team does actually get along and manage to solve problems together, showing the dynamic of this environment and how it isn't all chaos and screaming. Fortunately with a relatively conservative number of episodes and shorter runtime, I don't think this is a show that can easly exhaust itself. There seem to be two seasons and I'm already reaching the end of the first. Without a really linear narrative, it can sort of end anywhere. The character development is trickled down through each episode, really. Minor moments in their days add to their depth, and it really works.
