Burning Man (2011) directed by Jonathan Teplitzky

A dim memory of reasonable reviews on release of this 2011 film about a chef gone troppo led to recording it on SBS2 to watch later. And what a moving experience was almost missed. Matthew Goode (of Downton Abbey and Good Wife Fame) is almost unrecognisable as the grief-stricken and out-of-control chef. But he carries the film through from its initially disparate and obscure fragments of a life in pieces to a coherent whole that gradually comes together, as does his character, Tom. The burning metaphor is a little stretched, but the time jumps back and forth are clear and helpful in understanding what is going on in Tom’s world. A stellar supporting cast including Bojana Novakovic, Essie Davis and Rachael Griffiths help drive this desperately sad tale to a reasonable conclusion.