Review by John Delia
The fun film Dough opens in the United States wide and it’s far fetched about being half baked. But, Dough is also about dealing with prejudice and finding value within yourself. If you can overlook the fact that using marijuana in London does have consequences no matter what the screenplay shows you, then everyone should accept a little fantasy when it comes to filmmaking. The acting and directing in Dough is very good with fine cinematography and sets.
After a narrow escape from the police during a drug raid Ayyash (Jerome Holder), a Muslim, finds himself holding a sack of weed belonging to Victor Gerard (Ian Hart) a local drug lord. When his friends smoke it all up, Ayyash tells Gerard he can make it up to him. Gerard offers him to be one of his street sellers, but only if he gets a respectable job for his cover. He gets a job at Nat Dayan’s (Jonathan Pryce) Kosher bakery with the help of his mother and one day accidentally spills some of his marijuana into the dough mixer. When the town’s people start getting high Nat’s business starts to boom. So begins a comical tale of seasoning dough to make more “breadâ€.
Director John Goldschmidt (Play for Today) does a good job of bringing the zany tale to the screen. He establishes his characters early on so he can get to the meat of his story, a comical tale of wining and woe. He handles the struggle of finding one’s way in a tough environment by questionable means quite good, but without consequences it loses the reality of the crime.
I like the characters, especially Jonathan Pryce’s Nat who believes in passing down his bakery to keep it in the family. He’s struggling with keeping it however, since his son has moved on to a profession he feels right for him. Then there’s a land grabbing businessman that wants the land occupied the bakery and hiring a Muslim to bake has the neighborhood wondering about Nat. His granddaughter would be the best prospect to take over the business, but a 9-year-old is out of the question.
Dough has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains drug use, language and minor violence.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good fun film with some nice acting. (C )
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Jerome Holder, Melanie Freeman, Ian Hart, Natasha Gordon
Directed by: John Goldschmidt
Genre: Comedy, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, Contains Drug Use, Minor Violence, Language
Running Time: 1 hr. 34 min.
Release Date: February 12, 2016
Distributed by: Menemsha Films