Dough Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Dough Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 3, 2017

The Forward (known formerly as The Jewish Daily Forward) is an iconic news publication (and, more recently, site) that has been around for well over a century and which has long trumpeted progressive Jewish values, as might be gleaned from its very title. I’ve been joking to some friends personally and on some social media platforms for the last year or so that The Forward seems to have moved past “mere” socioeconomic issues to more or less shill for the nascent legalized cannabis industry, at least as evidenced by a series of sometimes patently odd articles that talk up adding marijuana to all sorts of traditional Jewish foods like Hamantaschen. There’s obviously been a sea change in the general reaction toward marijuana use generally, something that’s been more than evident in my home state of Oregon, which legalized both medicinal and recreational use of weed a couple of years ago. My wife and I have subsequently joked that about the only thing more ubiquitous than Starbucks in Portland now are dispensaries, which popped up with almost alarming frequency in the wake of the passage of the law, and which now dot virtually every corner of the city. Almost all of those dispensaries offer “edibles”, something that might catch the interest of any given Forward writer or editor, though they tend to be things like lollipops or gummies, rather than the baked (no pun intended) goods offered in the genial if fairly predictable Dough.

Nat Dayan (Jonathan Pryce) is an elderly Jewish baker who is in fact the “son” of his business Dayan and Son, having seen his dreams of passing his business on to his own progeny dissolve when his kid took the more predictable route of becoming an attorney. That may have been a wise decision in any case, as the film opens to find Nat struggling to maintain his failing bakery in the wake of the attrition of his equally aging clientele. The film also documents the adventures of a young black immigrant named Ayyash (Jerome Holder), whose not all that innocent interchanges with local drug dealer Victor (Ian Hart) get him perilously close to being arrested. In a probably too convenient linkage, Ayyash’s hard working mother Safa (Natasha Gordon) turns out to be Nat’s custodian. When Nat’s long suffering apprentice quits, Ayyash seems to fit the bill, especially since Ian has told the young man to get a “cover” job to distract from the fact that Ayyash is also dealing drugs on Ian’s behalf. In a none too surprising “twist”, Ayyash’s adventures with learning to bake and drug dealing intertwine, which just as predictably leads to a rather vigorous uptick in Nat’s business.

Two other fairly rote subplots are woven into this particular challah, including Nat’s landlady Joanna Silverman (Pauline Collins) obviously having eyes for the widower, and both Nat and Joanna maintaining a “holdout” status revolving around Nat’s main competitor Sam Cotton (Philip Davis), who has his eyes on Nat’s business, or at least its location. Everything proceeds pretty much as you’d expect, and if the film is rarely if ever laugh out loud hilarious, it’s generally quite amiable and even sweet hearted at times.

This is a film that’s strong on character even if it’s pretty resolutely unambitious with regard to its plot. Dough’s subtext of differing cultures and/or religions having to get along (Ayyash is Muslim) isn’t exactly ground breaking, but it’s offered here with a certain sincerity that makes its more screed like moments play in a perhaps surprisingly unobnoxious fashion. Performances are well done, though all of the characters tend to exist as types, defined by their socioeconomic statuses as much as any “beats” given to them in the actual screenplay.

Dough Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dough is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Menemsha Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Digitally captured with Arri Alexa cameras, this is a perfectly competent and workmanlike presentation that offers generally excellent detail levels and a naturalistic looking palette, but which really has little if any opportunity for true visual "wow". A lot of the film plays out in the confined spaces of Nat's bakery, but detail levels remain strong despite sometimes less than optimal lighting conditions. Some of the outdoor material pops a bit better, though the supposed London dreariness (the film was actually shot in Budapest, according to the closing credits) tends to keep the palette on the gray and rainy side. There are no issues with compression anomalies or image instability.

Dough Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As I mentioned in our The Women's Balcony Blu-ray review, Menemsha Films is still relatively new to the Blu-ray game (it looks like only three titles have been released by the label so far), and so I'll continue to grant them a little slack for only offering lossy Dolby tracks on this release, as they did on the previously reviewed release. There's not a ton to Dough's sound design in any case, aside from a few passing moments like an early (and brief) club scene which introduces Ayyash, or some of the aforementioned outdoor material where a few ambient environmental effects dot the surround channels. Otherwise, this tends to be a dialogue driven affair that may not offer a ton of immersion but which even in this lossy offering sounds clear and fine, if lacking a little energy on the low end.

Dough Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Pauline Collins (1080p; 00:37) offers some brief comments by the actress, and can be accessed either as a standalone supplement or as a, well, introduction to playing the film.


• The Baking of Dough (1080p; 16:14) is a decent EPK with some good interviews.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 4:52)


• Improv with the Cast (1080p; 8:22) plays a bit more like a gag reel.


• Trailers includes a bunch of Menemsha titles, but does feature Dough's Trailer (1080p; 2:07) and Teaser (1080p; 00:31).

Dough Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dough never really breaks any new ground, but it's kind of sweet and it offers some good if unprovocative lessons on learning to get along despite differences. Performances are quite winning and the film, while rarely really all that funny, has a rather good natured ambience that may recommend it to those wanting a little unambitious viewing. Video is fine if never overwhelmingly stupendous, and audio is OK considering its lossy presentation, for those considering a purchase.