The desire to be seen as special is a ubiquitous one. Whether it’s your talent in drawing or your ability to solve a Rubik’s cube in under a minute, being unique is something many people strive for in life.
In the Thai Netflix film “Hunger”, this is what drives Aoy (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) to leave her family business selling “pad see ew” – a fried-noodle dish – in her neighbourhood, and accept an invitation to work under the infamously ruthless chef Paul (Nopachai Chayanam).
After stepping into the demanding kitchen of the chef’s restaurant, aptly named Hunger, she works tirelessly to earn a spot in the cutthroat culinary world.
But between attempting to impress her boss and serving the richest members of society, Aoy begins to lose her sense of self.
Ruling his kitchen with an iron fist, Paul constantly berates the much younger chef over her every move, from how she sears an expensive cut of beef to how she slices vegetables.
Indeed, the way Aoy is treated by the head chef is reminiscent of the abusive relationship between Neiman and Fletcher in “Whiplash” (2014), albeit to a lesser extent.
Much like the similarly themed “The Menu”, the topic of social class divide drives the central plot here. The “eat the rich” narrative is portrayed allegorically and literally, with one particular scene depicting the well-to-do as ravenous beasts tearing into meat with blood-like sauce around their mouths.
It’s not exactly subtle, but it works. As Paul points out to Aoy: the poor eat to satisfy their hunger; but when you have more than enough to eat, that hunger doesn’t end.
Where “Hunger” succeeds is in the strong performances by the two leads. As the hapless younger chef, Chuengcharoensukying cuts a sympathetic and sincere figure.
From being a humble cook in her family restaurant to a fry chef in a top establishment, it’s easy for viewers to root for her. The 27-year-old model-actress delivers a raw and captivating performance, making her journey satisfying on the whole.
Chayanam’s Paul, on the other hand, effectively pulls off a villainous Gordon Ramsay-esque mentor with the right amount of arrogance without rendering him completely hateful. While he sees himself as being better than the fat cats he serves, he ultimately isn’t all that different from them in terms of ego and status.
Chayanam’s interactions with Chuengcharoensukying are a joy to watch, regardless of whether they are merely conversing or butting heads. Notably, Paul is what Aoy has the potential of becoming if she continues on her current path.
Thankfully, her father and two younger siblings keep her grounded, their interaction being the emotional core of the film, providing some truly touching moments that just might cause you to tear up.
That said, where “Hunger” falls short is in being a movie with a fairly simplistic plot that doesn’t warrant its length of 2.5 hours. In short, short it certainly isn’t.
The visuals are striking, to be sure, with director Sitisiri Mongkolsiri (“Girl from Nowhere”) drawing from his horror-thriller background to deliver some compelling imagery. But after a while this tends to feel repetitive, almost as if to fill up the runtime.
Indeed, sitting through “Hunger” might leave you groggy and struggling to keep up – which is a real shame because, with tighter pacing, viewers could’ve been left feeling satiated rather than “jelak”.
‘Hunger’ is streaming on Netflix.