Toast

The casting choices were very good in my opinion; very individual characters who you really feel as if you get to know. Freddie Highmore came in too late unfortunately. The sudden switch lost my sense of attachment to Nigel, and it was too near to the end to have it rebuild. I loved Oscar Kennedy. I thought he was amazing.

The ending was such a letdown, I was still waiting for the 'real ending' when it happened. Nigel's sexuality wasn't really emphasized, nor was it not mentioned. It was just 'there'. It wasn't played into the plot line or Nigel's character development. Probably the most anticlimactic bit after the ending.

Good. But could have been a lot better.

This film is about the eventful childhood of Nigel Slater, and how he developed love for the culinary art.

The tag line of "Toast" suggests that it is a film about food, but it really is about Nigel Slater's sad childhood. The child is unloved by his father. His mother was more loving, but could not cook at all. After his mother's untimely death, his life is thrown into emotional turmoil. I find the portrayal of Nigel's state of mind to be heartfelt and profound. It makes me connect with him an his feelings. The rivalry between Nigel and Joan is well depicted too. The tension between them is so palpable. Given such tension between them, the events near the ending are particularly sad. I think "Toast" is a fine film, it is to be savoured.

The British always seem to have such interesting faces, and because of that their movies seems to have more depth and feeling than American movies. Toast is no exception. This movie contains little dialogue and relies much on visual communication, which could easily have turned it into one of those movies that makes you glance at your watch every twenty minutes. But the casting of such physically unique individuals makes it riveting.

The dynamics of family. I know, I know. Do we really need to go there again? Yes we do, and Toast puts it out there in a raw, you-are-scarred-for-life way that we can all relate to. It hurts to watch the way Nigel Carter, the British food writer on whose biography the movie is based, hurl insults at his dying mother, knowing this behavior will haunt him in the end. It's equally hard to watch the miscommunication between father and son—this could be any home in America where parents and children seem to speaking foreign tongues to each other, tearing the already weakened fabric of parent-child relationships. It's a wonder anyone survives.

But Nigel was a survivor. I liked how he listened to the voice inside him, ignoring society's pressure to fit in. In school he was the only male who chose to take home economics over shop, and he stood at his father's wedding by the cake he'd made so carefully, even though the wedding represented everything that would alienate him even further from his father. Our Nigel did it his way. I half-expected to to hear that Frank Sinatra song at some point during the film.

I loved the reference to toast. "Soft inside the toasted shell, where the butter nestles in…" or something like that. I loved toast when I was growing up, and I think it is the only comfort food that doesn't have a sugar base. My personal favorite was cinnamon toast, but hey, to each his own. I have never met anyone who doesn't like toast, and it was a perfect metaphor.

Which leads us to wonder, is it possible Nigel's mother was that bad a cook? Is it possible that someone could boil cans for dinner and burn them? Go see Toast. Then cook something. Feed those you love with culinary delights you enjoy making and let the sweet and savory fetes roll.

Nice film.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting something this good when I tuned in to watch Toast. While it doesn't quite make my favourite dramas of all-time list, it is for me one of the better programmes airing over the Christmas season. Is Toast sentimental? Yes, in a way I suppose it is. But it is also warm, gentle and tender, not to mention evocative and multi-layered. Toast looks wonderful certainly, as the production values and period detail are really quite pleasing. The photography is very skillful, while the scenery and costumes are beautiful. In general, I did like the music. It did occasionally get a tad over-bearing, but in its more subdued moments it was quite charming and quaint, very like the drama itself. The script is always touching, honest and funny, while the story is engaging throughout and the pacing and direction are also spot-on. The acting is perfect across the board. Oscar Kennedy is wonderful as young Nigel Slater, and while Freddie Highmore as his teenage self is good Kennedy was better. Ken Stott is also winning as his father, and Victoria Hamilton is very touching. Helena Bonham Carter also gives one of her better performances of late. All in all, this is a very absorbing and beautifully done drama. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this movie without knowing who Nigel Slater is. The trailer made it out to be a humorous coming-of-age story about a boy with a passion for cooking.

The young Nigel never gives Mrs. Potter a chance - because she works as a house cleaner, is a bit vulgar and lives in public housing, he looks down on her and puts her down in front of his father whenever he can. He wins sympathy points for the emotionally abusive father and the dying mother, but ultimately he himself is not a likable character. And that is the main drawback of the movie. It seems to have been created mainly to vilify the stepmother that Nigel never liked.

Otherwise there is nothing wrong with it. In fact I think Helena Bonham-Carter delivers a great performance as Mrs. Potter.