Begrudgingly Bearing Witness
Preceded by chaos, and promising further chaos, “Review,” the penultimate episode of The Bear’s first season, stuns us with an 18-minute take. The Bear never fails to captivate an audience with its compelling characters; it wills us to root for either their success or their comeuppance–or occasionally a confusing combination of both. If the preceding episodes of the season are the ticking clock, “Review” is most definitely the alarm, and it blares incessantly for 18 minutes, as tensions at The Beef restaurant reach their peak. Completely at the mercy of the cameraman, we wish simultaneously for an escape and for the ability to assist. A perfect use of the one-take, the naturalistic camera work fully immerses us within the gritty and exhausting kitchen reality. We are dragged down to the grimy floor, carried with Sydney’s knife from workstation to workstation, hidden behind prep buckets as fiery arguments break loose, and tossed down a cascading pile of order receipts that exacerbate every kitchen feud. Displaying completely different attitudes to their work and to the restaurant’s improvement, conflicts of ambition emerge among the restaurant’s employees.
Carmy, owner of The Beef, is a highly skilled chef, having formerly worked at what Sydney deems to be “the best restaurant in the world.” Upon the death of his older brother Michael, Carmy inherits The Beef and proposes plans for its improvement. Constantly trapped in an internal conflict, Carmy tries to reconcile his intense perfectionism with his desire to embrace a more sedate pace of life. Scarred by his intense experience working at the top, Carmy seems disillusioned by critical acclaim, whilst his protégé, Sydney, dreams of glowing reviews. After failing to sustain her one-woman catering business from her dad’s house, Sydney is demoralised, and looks to her role as Sous Chef at The Beef for redemption. For Sydney, upgrades to The Beef offer a chance to restore faith in her own competence and her propensity for success.
Other kitchen staff, however, see the proposed improvements as an imposition, particularly Michael’s best friend, Richie. Struggling to maintain an already tenuous relationship with his young daughter as he separates from her mother, and working as a cashier with no plans to seek better, Richie is opposed to the improvements Carmy proposes for The Beef. He constantly ridicules Carmy and Sydney’s culinary customs, persevering with the perfunctory attitude he finds comfort in.
Almost incessantly at odds throughout “Review,” Richie and Sydney have completely different attitudes to their work, but arguably for the same reason: both fear that their lives will amount to nothing. For Sydney, this fear motivates her to strive for better and concentrate on upgrading the restaurant. For Richie, it has the opposite effect: he avoids trying to better himself for fear of re-affirming his beliefs about his own inability to succeed. He fears that the upgrades will leave him stranded, as this once slap-dash fast-food restaurant becomes a refined establishment, proving to Richie, and everyone else, that he is incapable of contributing to anything deemed impressive. The restaurant improvements alter his future, whilst also erasing his past of shabby but easily sustainable work at The Beef. The upgrades overwrite Sydney’s past failures, and give her the opportunity to realise her ideal future.
Jaded by the hollow rewards of culinary expertise, Carmy subtly tries to impress upon Sydney the transience and ultimate emptiness of critically acclaimed success. Sydney, ever-determined to prove herself, still harbours these dreams, often pushing too hard as a result. In “Review,” Sydney sets up a new online ordering system, which quickly backfires as she forgets to turn off the pre-order setting, inundating the restaurant with orders. Carmy cannot contain his rage and Sydney most definitely bears the brunt of it. The conflicts cause Sydney to quit hastily and angrily, leaving the kitchen understaffed, as order receipts continue to print. Perhaps at this point, we also want out, but we are forced to stay behind, begrudgingly bearing witness to the chaotic remnants of a once-promising dream.
Now 7 episodes in, we ourselves are caught in an internal conflict, as must reconcile our natural wish for the restaurant to succeed and our empathy for characters who support the upgrades, with our empathy for characters looking to hinder the proposed changes. The 18-minute take perfectly encapsulates the intense and inescapable chaos of both the characters’ internal conflicts and our own, as our empathy almost unwittingly strengthens our relationship with all characters.
By the end of “Review,” you almost want to put your hand out for your $60 for the day you’ve spent in soiled chef’s whites. The Bear’s signature: there is still another stressful episode to come.