The Baker (DVD)

The Baker is very simple British comedy about a hired killer who decides to take a softer touch with one of his hired hits. Offering the man an option to simply disappear rather than be executed, the news about Milo's (Damien Lewis) lenience gets back to his employer and Milo finds himself a target for killing. In order to escape his fate Milo puts New York behind him and heads to the Welsh countryside and a small rural town. After a suspicious arrival ...
...baker. It's not long before the locals led by Eggs (Dyfan Dwyfor) start to doubt his baking experience, and realise that he is (or rather was) a hired killer, in a small town where little arguments get out of control everyone knows somebody they want dead.

The Baker starts very promising but very quickly loses its sheen, I found not 30 minutes in that the movie felt an awful lot like many British comedies of probably more than 40 years ... more

The Baker is very simple British comedy about a hired killer who decides to take a softer touch with one of his hired hits. Offering the man an option to simply disappear rather than be executed, the news about Milo's (Damien Lewis) lenience gets back to his employer and Milo finds himself a target for killing. In order to escape his fate Milo puts New York behind him and heads to the Welsh countryside and a small rural town. After a suspicious arrival the locals start enquiring more into Milo's life who now claims to be a baker. It's not long before the locals led by Eggs (Dyfan Dwyfor) start to doubt his baking experience, and realise that he is (or rather was) a hired killer, in a small town where little arguments get out of control everyone knows somebody they want dead.

The Baker starts very promising but very quickly loses its sheen, I found not 30 minutes in that the movie felt an awful lot like many British comedies of probably more than 40 years prior. I'd go as far as to say after a short time the movie becomes incredibly boring, you know where the story is going and when and how the different aspects will become uncovered. It's all so very sadly predictable, in fact at times diabolical.

I think you cannot draw reference enough to the fact that the movie is strangely out of time, I'm absolutely lost as to how writer/director Gareth Lewis felt that in 2007 this movie would be pertinent in anyway shape or form. This is the sort of material that possibly legendary Ealing studios would have turned away, although it clearly pays a sort of homage to movies of that time. On top of the fact that the story is fairly lacklustre there is also the fact that the movie feels very cheap, with limited sets and poor set decoration that makes the whole thing look rushed. I'm all for low budget movies, but except the fact that your low budget and don't pretend to be something else, something this movie clearly believes it is. And that's a bigger issue to raise again, The Baker clearly thinks its very funny, with pause points etched into the plot to allow the viewer to laugh and not miss any of the plot, the result of course being opposite because firstly it's not funny, at all, and secondly the pause points end up looking slightly odd, like something's gone wrong or maybe someone has lost their lines.

I quite like the movies lead Damien Lewis, but here it seems rather like he is putting in half a job, at no point did I think to myself that I actually liked the character he was playing. And this is an issue that floods its way through the rest of the cast. Leading lady Kate Ashfield as the romantic interest Rhiannon tries to play the same sort of quirky that Diane Keaton delivered in Annie Hall, but it just seems completely hollow. Doctor Who's Annette Badland fresh from Who offers a fairly lethargic performance, while the worst offender of all Michael Gambon is literally there to add a big name to the production, but let's face it really what has Gambon been doing lately? Does he really have that factor of interest?

As no doubt you can tell, I'm pretty unimpressed with the The Baker it had the opportunity t deliver something new, instead it was cheap excuse to make lots of naff jokes about middle aged men in thongs and Y-fronts; and rip off sex scenes from Ghost, 9 ½ weeks and Indecent Proposal all of which are films far superior to this. I don't quite know where The Baker's audience is, it certainly was not in my household.

Special Features:

A Commentary with Gareth and Damien Lewis further adds the idea into my head that the movie thinks it's a lot better than it is, Gareth at one point says "That was hysterical" I had to wonder if he was watching a different movie.

Behind the scenes, takes us literally behind them, although there are no big secrets revealed as to how the movie went together, instead it shows us lots of cast members having meaningful conversations with the camera.

A BBC film report looks at the filming of the show, but fails to add sparkle to this damp squib of a movie. Although the presenter of this report does have more talent than the leading cast, and at lease manages to generate a smile.

The Baker should you want it, is available now for around £10.

Spencer Hawken 04/08 

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