Mobster Wives Take Charge
“The Kitchen” isn’t about cooking or restaurants or chefs. It’s a darkly satiric film about three housewives who seize an opportunity to empower themselves in the risky world of crime. The “kitchen” of the title refers to Hell’s Kitchen on Manhattan’s West Side.<br /><br />The time is the late 1970s. When their husbands, members of a local Irish gang, are imprisoned, their wives are left adrift. Kathy (Melissa McCarthy) has two kids and no idea how they’re going to survive. Ruby (Tiffany Haddish) is married to the son of the gang’s matriarch (Margo Martindale) and hates both her controlling husband and her horrific mother-in-law. Claire (Elisabeth Moss) has been repeatedly abused by her husband, physically and emotionally, and her self-esteem is reduced to nothing.<br /><br />When they realize that their husbands’ gang isn’t going to take care of them, financially or otherwise, they join forces and discover that the gang, which runs a protection racket, is not looking after the small businesses that pay up. They take over by providing the services they promise, and find they’re raking in more cash than their husbands ever did. But their success draws the attention of the Italian mob from Brooklyn, which is not keen on competition.<br /><br />The screenplay, based on the DC Comics graphic series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle, moves along with considerable unexplained developments. The women seem to get the swing of things and transform rather quickly from submissive dependents into tough negotiators handy with intimidation and guns. One character, ex-gang member Gabriel O’Malley (Domhnall Gleeson) literally pops into the film to join the women’s cause and develop a romantic attraction to Claire.<br /><br />The women’s roles are the best written, and each of the three characters has her own interesting story. The male characters, with the exception of O’Malley, are standard gangster flick cliches on hand merely to further the plot. Only Bill Camp, as Brooklyn mob kingpin Alfonso Coretti, provides a fairly original portrayal of a man with power. Soft-spoken, immaculately dressed, and given to speaking in full sentences, there’s no doubt he can order a hit instantly but prefers to negotiate and know his adversaries.<br /><br />McCarthy and Haddish, best known for comedy, turn in solid dramatic performances and Moss, best known for TV’s “Mad Men” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” shows the widest range as her character transforms from a weak, frightened woman to someone who relishes her new role as badass. A scene in which O’Malley mentors them on how to dispose of a body is particularly memorable. As the three women observe the dismemberment of a corpse (not shown), Kathy and Ruby can’t bear to watch and leave the room. Only Claire remains, following instructions and eager to participate.<br /><br />Character actress Martindale turns in an icy performance as Helen O’Carroll, the woman who basically controls the other women’s lives, even while her son and his cohorts are in jail. She has the respect of the gang members, likes her power, and wields it mercilessly. It looks like she hasn’t cracked a smile in decades.<br /><br />Director Andrea Berloff admirably captures the feel of New York in the 1970s with period vehicles and recreations of the look of the area 40 years ago. There’s a gritty feel to the film which works nicely for the subject matter. She’s balanced the stories of the three women effectively so each has appropriate screen time.<br /><br />Rated R for violence and strong language, “The Kitchen” is similar in plot to “Widows.” In both films, wives of bad guys must make it on their own. Both films focus on the helplessness of women without marketable skills who turn to the only means of earning a living they know. Though Kathy, Ruby, and Claire are lawbreakers, the husbands are so reprehensible that we sympathize with the wives. The female performances are strong, the pace is brisk, and the characters develop in interesting ways.<br /><br /> Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release include 2 behind-the-scenes making-of featurettes and a deleted scene. There are 12 Scene Selection chapters for easy access to specific sequences. A Digital code on a paper insert is included.
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 {"Genre": "Drama, Suspense, Action & Adventure", "Format": "Blu-ray, NTSC, Subtitled", "Contributor": "Tiffany Haddish, Dave Neustadter, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard Brener, Elisabeth Moss, James Badge Dale, Marcus Viscidi, Jason Cloth, Common, Aaron L. Gilbert, Melissa McCarthy, Elishia Holmes, Adam Schlagman, Michael De Luca, Michael Disco, Andrea BerloffTiffany Haddish, Dave Neustadter, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard Brener, Elisabeth Moss, James Badge Dale, Marcus Viscidi, Jason Cloth, Common, Aaron L. Gilbert, Melissa McCarthy, Elishia Holmes, Adam Schlagman, Michael De Luca, Michael Disco, Andrea Berloff   See more", "Initial release date": "2019-11-05", "Runtime": "1 hour and 42 minutes", "MPAA rating": "R (Restricted)", "Product Dimensions": "0.6 x 5.4 x 6.7 inches; 2.4 Ounces", "Director": "Andrea Berloff", "Media Format": "Blu-ray, NTSC, Subtitled", "Run time": "1 hour and 42 minutes", "Release date": "November 5, 2019", "Actors": "Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss, Domhnall Gleeson, James Badge Dale", "Subtitles": "English, Portuguese, French, Spanish", "Producers": "Richard Brener, Michael De Luca, Michael Disco, Marcus Viscidi, Dave Neustadter", "Language": "Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)", "Studio": "Studio Distribution Services", "Writers": "Andrea Berloff", "Number of discs": "1"}

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