No Reservations Play Analysis

No Reservations is a Romantic Drama directed by Scott Hicks. This movie depicts a love interest between Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Nick (Aaron Eckhart) two master chefs that live in New York City. Drama kicks in when Kates sister visits and on the way is involved in a fatal car crash. Zoe (Abigail Breslin) who was also in the car survived and was left alone because her father was absent in her life therefore Kate her aunt was held responsible for her niece.
I appreciate the city that was used in the movie because it is very multicultural as far as food goes. The Roles that were played by Kate and Nick were great the whole idea of opposites attract played a big part throughout the movie. On one side we have Kate an uptight strong headed chef that thinks she knows everything about the kitchen. She had everything down to a science. She didn’t have time to greet satisfied customers but she did have time to lash out at unsatisfied customers. On the other side we have Nick a laid back easy-going chef who has never run his own restaurant. He loves playing classical music as he directs his line on what the next dish will be.
The acting done by Abigail I think really held the movie together she brought a sort of intensity to the movie playing such a strong role kept the audience on the edge of their seats.
Throughout the movie she has to deal with a lot. Everything she loves is falling apart. First she loses her mom and is dealt with adjusting to a new life with her aunt. She finds herself enjoying time spent in the kitchen with nick and her aunt and shortly is striped of her ability to be at the restaurant with them. Later in the movie Kate and Nick are involved in an argument and no longer see each other. Towards the end of the movie she finds herself losing memory of her own mother. Abigail did a remarkable job in one of the lead roles in No
Reservations.
The food aspect I felt lacked throughout the movie. Although the running of a kitchen and a restaurant was very accurately drawn in the movie. I especially liked the customer complaints and how Kate would react to them. Everybody thinks they’re a critique and every chef wishes they could react like Kate does. I think the most memorable seen was when Kate got a complaint over a rare steak being over cooked twice. Her reaction was to throw a raw steak on the customers table. I particularly admired the scenes of family meals where the whole staff would gather around the table to taste and learn that nights food for dinner service. That’s something really good restaurants do to provide the best possible experience for a costumer. Other than a dish about a quail, a saffron sauce with a special ingredient and a bowl of spaghetti convincing a little girl that the kitchen is really cool place nothing really popped out as extraordinary about the food in the movie. With all the events that happen in this movie I think the message would be that life isn’t always how you planned it to be. Anything can happen within a split second you can’t control your life. An important part is the ending as usual it’s a happy ending but I think it shows that you can make the best of what has been given to you. If Kates sister had never died she would have never missed work and would have never given nick the opportunity to fill in her position and they would have never met. Kate would have never gotten custody of Zoe and Nick would have never fallen in love with Kate and Zoe. Nick, Kate and Zoes Bistro would have never opened.
My final thoughts are that this movie is very great romantic drama it brings a rollercoaster of emotions typical in this genre of movies. I wouldn’t recommend it to a foodie because I don’t feel like it has anything extraordinary about food. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a love story with a dramatic twist.