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The writer has lovingly braided a fairytale for adults that imagines a place where religious, ethnic and societal differences aren't dealt with violence but with respect, restraint and a desire for mutual understanding and appreciation.

An aging baker, an economically challenged refugee struggling to make a new life in a foreign land, a randy widow, opportunistic drug lord, and scheming business executive are tossed into the writer's mixing bowl.

As the yeast works its magic, we enjoy the dramatic conflicts and gentle humor director John Goldschmidt stretches, pulls and shapes from his cast. Jonathan Pryce (the Jewish baker Nat Dayan), Jerome Holder (the Muslim immigrant Ayyash), and Pauline Collins (the widow Joanna) deliver a perfectly browned Dough straight from the hearth and ready for your consumption.

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"Dough" is a film brand new to DVD and is available from Netflix...and I strongly recommend you give it a try. This is because this British movie is very fresh and original...and is far better than I'd expected given what I knew about the plot. Just be forewarned...you might not like the characters initially...stick with it, you won't be sorry!

When the film begins, young Ayyash (Jerome Holder) is an unemployed African man living in London. His plan to get himself and his mother out of poverty is to sell drugs for a particularly nasty thug. However, his mother is looking out for him and when her employer, Nat (Jonathan Pryce), is in need of an apprentice in his bakery, she introduces Ayyash to him. As for Ayyash, he only agrees to do the job as a cover...he assumes most of his money will come about by selling drugs.

As for Ayyash and Nat, they have no reason to get along of like each other. After all, Nat is an old Orthodox Jew and Ayyash is a young black Muslim--not exactly natural friends. However, and this is what I loved about the film, over time the odd pair began to grow on each other and actually care about each other. Yet, at the same time, it didn't come off as clichéd or ridiculous.

One day, Ayyash is making bread and some of his marijuana falls into the batch. He tells no one but the bread turns out to be a hit...and Ayyash decides to use more pot in his baking because he wants to help out Nat because his business is failing. Soon, they have more customers than they could have dreamed of and Nat doesn't suspect why this is the case. As for what happens next, you'll just have to watch the film for yourself.

This film easily could have been a goofy comedy but instead shied away from overt comedy. Instead, the filmmakers wisely chose to make the story much more character-driven instead of going for the cheap laughs. As a result, you really grow to like the characters and their interaction is at times quite sweet. Both actors did a great job with the material and the film is one that only gets better as the movie progresses. Well worth seeing and a very nice picture that took me by surprise.

"Dough" is movie about an old Jewish man who sees his bakery facing a decline in sales until his Muslim immigrant apprentice adds a drug-related ingredient into the recipe. The movie is, in short, much like the results of main characters baking - it's lacking the industrial uniformity of bigger-budget productions, the laughs are few and far between, the pacing is slow and it all feels a little flat, but it's trying to follow a recipe to be predictable and easy-to-swallow for as wide an audience as possible. In the end, Dough gets a little bit overcooked, but it pushes all the buttons in the cliché department which makes the film basically a feel-good drama that, from time to time, can make you laugh. Not for younger audience 'cos its humor is not funny, funny but more subtle/ironic. 5/10.

... and I think it succeeds without taking anything away from the entertainment value.

Jonathan Pryce is a Jewish baker. He is a widower and his son won't go into the business, instead he's become a lawyer. He needs an assistant and his black Moslem cleaning lady suggests her son (Jerome Holder). He has been through a lot before receiving refugee status in the U. K., and he has been earning money by selling marijuana on the streets for the local nasty (Ian Hart).

Naturally the old baker and the young boy get on like chalk and cheese in the beginning, but they warm to each other and the boy seems to be doing well - except for the fact that some marijuana gets mixed up in the cakes. This assures popularity for the shop - which is a good thing because a local entrepreneur (Phil Davis) is trying to buy the property to build a car park. Then there is the landlady, Mrs. Silverman - (Pauline Collins), recently widowed who has her eyes on the baker.

The film is attempting to show that we can all get along with each other despite differences in our backgrounds, religion and all that sort of thing - but it doesn't preach a sermon. Instead it shows the normal reactions of people trying to understand each other. It does this with a lot of humor and at times, little dollops of heartbreak.

Some of the most interesting movies that I've seen focus on food: "Big Night", "Chocolat" and "Chef", to name a few. Now we have "Dough". Part look at Jewish baking, part look at a mixing of cultures, it hits all the right notes. Basically, it reminds us that we're all human, all trying to survive in this modern world. But it's also got some funny stuff and great lines. I've liked Jonathan Pryce in every role where I've seen him, and I hope that newcomer Jerome Holder gets more roles like this one. Definitely worth seeing.

Also appearing are Ian Hart (Quirrell in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone") and Pauline Collins (the title role in "Shirley Valentine").