‘Dough’ film finds redemption in unexpected places

By Reader Staff

Pot in brownies we’ve heard of. Pot in challah bread? Not so much.

“Dough” tells the story of Nat, an old curmudgeonly Jewish baker (Jonathan Pryce) struggling to keep his small Kosher bakery open, and an immigrant kid named Ayyash (Jerome Holder) from Darfur who gets work as the baker’s apprentice.

The opener shows the baker’s morning ritual, starting at 4 a.m., in conjunction with what the kid is up to at the same time (getting into potentially big trouble at a nightclub). The second sequence comes later in the film when the baker and the kid attempt to break into the main office of a sinister grocery-chain in order to steal back some possibly compromised muffins swiped from their store.

The wonderful Jonathan Pryce lives a life of routine. He spends days at his bakery, watching his customer base dwindling away as the demographics of his neighborhood shift. He has movie nights with an old pal (“Singing in the Rain” was his late wife’s favorite). He turns down the persistent romantic advances of a vivacious recent widow (Pauline Collins) who is determined to add a bit of color back into his world.

Other plot twists along with his shop in danger include how he has lost his apprentice to the competition. Ayyash’s mother sweeps the floors in Nat’s bakery, and when Nat loses his apprentice, she suggests he try her son out in the position.

Ayyash fled Darfur with his mother, and he’s hanging out with a bad crowd. They desire to sell drugs – not for the purpose of using them – just for the money. Nat and Ayyash treat each other with suspicion, borne out of religious prejudice. Ayyash helps bring the spring back to Nat’s step and solving the dilemma of not enough customers is creatively solved. Bouncing through a conflict with an evil real estate developer who actually cackles with glee after a meeting with Nat. The film is not subtle, and telegraphs “who people are” with the broadest of strokes.

Jonathan Pryce (well known for his roles in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Game of Thrones”) does not disappoint in his role and delivers laughs and a solid character. Where does the pot come in? Ayyash’s attempts to start dealing drugs for extra cash provides a funny plot-twist when he comes up with the idea to put it in the challah bread dough right before Shabbat is celebrated.

“Dough” is a warmhearted and humorous story with a good heart finding redemption in unexpected places.

“Dough” will be showing at the Panida on Saturday, July 2 at 4:20 and 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 3 at 3:30 p.m. Unrated. www.panida.org