Credited cast: | |||
Jonathan Pryce | ... | Nat Dayan | |
Jerome Holder | ... | Ayyash Habimana | |
Phil Davis | ... | Sam Cotton (as Philip Davis) | |
Ian Hart | ... | Victor Gerrard | |
Pauline Collins | ... | Joanna Silverman | |
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Andrew Ellis | ... | Lucas |
Malachi Kirby | ... | Shaun | |
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Natasha Gordon | ... | Safa Habimana |
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Melanie Freeman | ... | Olivia Dayan |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Joel Beckett | ... | PC O'Neill | |
Daniel Ben Zenou | ... | Rabbi | |
Matt Beveridge | ... | Stoner | |
Ben Bishop | ... | PC Marsh | |
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Paul Blackwell | ... | Car driver |
Alexander Bracq | ... | Car Driver |
Safa Habimana, a Muslim immigrant in Britain who struggles to make ends meet, hopes that she and her troubled teenage son, Ayyash, will reunite with her husband one day. However, with lots of time on his hands, Ayyash will soon find the police on his doorstep--and as a result--his desperate mother will need to take some drastic measures. So, without delay, Safa sets up an appointment with Nat, her Jewish boss and the neighbourhood's baker, to beg him to take her son as an apprentice. Of course, new beginnings are usually hard at first; but, little by little, as Nat's business starts to flourish thanks to a revolutionary recipe, a strong bond will develop between them. But, do they know that problems are just around the corner? Written by Nick Riganas
"Dough" is a film brand new to DVD and is available from Netflix...and I strongly recommend you give it a try. This is because this British movie is very fresh and original...and is far better than I'd expected given what I knew about the plot. Just be forewarned...you might not like the characters initially...stick with it, you won't be sorry!
When the film begins, young Ayyash (Jerome Holder) is an unemployed African man living in London. His plan to get himself and his mother out of poverty is to sell drugs for a particularly nasty thug. However, his mother is looking out for him and when her employer, Nat (Jonathan Pryce), is in need of an apprentice in his bakery, she introduces Ayyash to him. As for Ayyash, he only agrees to do the job as a cover...he assumes most of his money will come about by selling drugs.
As for Ayyash and Nat, they have no reason to get along of like each other. After all, Nat is an old Orthodox Jew and Ayyash is a young black Muslim--not exactly natural friends. However, and this is what I loved about the film, over time the odd pair began to grow on each other and actually care about each other. Yet, at the same time, it didn't come off as clichéd or ridiculous.
One day, Ayyash is making bread and some of his marijuana falls into the batch. He tells no one but the bread turns out to be a hit...and Ayyash decides to use more pot in his baking because he wants to help out Nat because his business is failing. Soon, they have more customers than they could have dreamed of and Nat doesn't suspect why this is the case. As for what happens next, you'll just have to watch the film for yourself.
This film easily could have been a goofy comedy but instead shied away from overt comedy. Instead, the filmmakers wisely chose to make the story much more character-driven instead of going for the cheap laughs. As a result, you really grow to like the characters and their interaction is at times quite sweet. Both actors did a great job with the material and the film is one that only gets better as the movie progresses. Well worth seeing and a very nice picture that took me by surprise.