FX’s The Bear, now streaming on Hulu, is a darkish comedy centered on Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), knowledgeable chef who returns dwelling to Chicago to run The Authentic Beef of Chicagoland, the household restaurant his useless brother left him. In making an attempt to revamp the Italian sandwich store and handle a culinary staff comprised of his “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), sous-chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), pastry tinkerer Marcus (Lionel Boyce), steadfast mother Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), and extra, Carmy loses management of his mood, his sanity, and his kitchen.
The fast-paced eight episode season routinely dials up the strain with assist from Jeffrey “JQ” Quinn’s edgy authentic rating; chaotic camerawork; and intense, immersive performances. However The Bear’s most aggravating showpiece is indisputably Episode 7, “Overview.”
For those who’d have instructed me Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago” would play atop one of many 12 months’s most nerve-racking TV episodes, I doubtless would have laughed in your face. The title is related to the sequence, however as a comparatively peppy, comforting observe it’s not my first choose to pregame a foul day. But, precisely 20 minutes after The Bear’s opening credit rolled out to the hopeful pomp of devices and Stevens’ emotive musical whisper, I felt like I’d simply survived an anxiousness assault.
Episode 7 opens with “Chicago” (the track) enjoying over a montage of Chicago (the town) transportation, structure, streets, monuments, native eateries, and historic clips. We catch glimpses of cooks Syd and Carmy commuting to work, and earlier than the observe fades we’re taken contained in the kitchen, the place chef Ebra (Edwin Lee Gibson) is studying a restaurant evaluate aloud. The piece is a rave, there’s only one drawback: The reviewer favored Syd’s experimental risotto dish, which isn’t on the menu.
Carmy enters, pissed, and tells Ebra to cease studying. “We’ve bought so much to do right this moment! We open in 20! To-gos stay in 20! Let’s fucking go!” he shouts. However Ebra drones on and the soothing sounds of Sufjan Stevens subside, ominously foreshadowing battle. Tina arrives along with her son Louie, who bought suspended from faculty. A screaming Richie enters to stoke risotto evaluate flames. Carmy screams, “15 MINUTES TO OPEN!” And all of the whereas, the digital camera swirls, whips, and bounces between topics and rooms, guaranteeing the painfully fraught 20-minute shot by no means breaks. With 10 minutes till to-go orders are stay, Richie asks Syd if she’s “blowing anyone down at The Telegraph” and he or she verbally dismantles him. As an alternative of specializing in the restaurant’s new system, these cooks — who’ve been simmering for six straight episodes — lastly boil over.
Midway by means of “Overview,” it’s clear the whole lot that may go improper, will. However as soon as we be taught Sydney unintentionally left the pre-order possibility open, The Bear crosses over into acquainted — albeit not often skilled — territory and delivers Uncut Gems ranges of hysteria. Like Adam Sandler’s 2019 high-stakes thriller, “Overview” options fixed exercise, a stressed digital camera, and relentless dialogue. Each supply adrenaline-pumping seems at males who appear intent on testing the boundaries of themselves and people round them, together with frantic time crunches that pile on strain and heighten stakes. As a full size movie, Uncut Gems could also be thought of a most important course, however the succinct “Overview” is actually a worthy Michelin star appetizer.
Because the to-go pill projectile vomits an limitless string of order receipts, Carmy morphs into an unrecognizable model of himself, shouting, “78 slices of chocolate cake! 99 French fries! 54 chickens! 38 salads! And 255 beef sandwiches! Due up in eight minutes!” Richie and Sydney inch nearer to exchanging unforgivable phrases, momentarily pausing to look at Carmy holler, “WHY ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME” not one however 4 occasions in Marcus’ face. Want a breather? Similar. However powerful beef, we don’t get one. As an alternative, Richie backs straight into Syd’s knife, Marcus throws his tray of gourmand donuts down, and Carmy dares ask Syd if the whole lot’s good.
With a crazed, dazed look in her eyes, she smiles maniacally. “We aren’t good, Chef. I give up,” she laughs. “You might be a superb chef. You might be additionally a bit of shit. This isn’t on me. Good Luck!” With a violent Sharpie toss, Carmy paces, bends down, and copes by consuming a donut off! the! ground! Richie screams, “Yo cousin there’s a fucking line, are we open or not?” and the overwhelmed chef smashes the to-go order machine. The digital camera pans to an inventory of guidelines hanging on the wall, all of which has doubtless been damaged on this single episode, and the tip credit roll. Phew.
“Overview” is a exceptional, anxiety-inducing feat that harnesses rigidity as an artwork type. The performances are uncooked, ripe with passive aggression, and at occasions arduous to look at — an particularly disturbing reality, for the reason that present has been praised for genuine depictions of abusive culinary workplaces. The dialogue is damning and seamlessly flows like a piping sizzling plate making its approach by means of a kitchen. And the choice to capture the mayhem in a single shot each dazzles and disorients.
Ultimately, pivoting from the graceful stylings of Sufjan Stevens to the bowels of culinary hell helped make these scenes extra jarring. Like Stevens’ lyrics, Carmy “made plenty of errors,” however “all issues develop” — even The Authentic Beef of Chicagoland after this hellish day.
