Director: Philip Barantini

Stars: Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Jason Flemyng

Bickering, blind panic and being stuck in a confined space with people you don’t care for: all the seasonal traditions are honoured in this thrilling one-shot picture set in a high-end London restaurant on a busy night in December. Graham is Andy, a troubled head chef with ever-mounting problems. In the opening sequence, Andy, fidgety and desperate to get to work, is lectured by a food safety inspector. The beleaguered chef also has to contend with absent staff, clashing colleagues, and a visit from an ex-colleague turned monstrously smug celebrity chef (Flemyng) who is demanding money and proffering unwelcome career advice. Adapting from his own short film, director Barantini deploying handheld cameras, grippingly recreates the panic and rush of a busy night, juggling intimate intense back of house moments with raucous crowded restaurant scenes. A little contrived occasionally, but it’s beautifully played, particularly by Graham, Flemyng and Vinette Robison as Carly, the straight-taking sous chef, and in its own way is as nerve-racking as any bank heist thriller.

Merry Xmas.