If it was made in India, No Reservations would have been exuberantly colourful, a little loud and filled with singing and dancing.

But the film is set in the USA, where life is more or less gray, the wounds are deeper and the only music is opera. So don’t expect to relate to the story that much.

No Reservations is inspired by the German film Mostly Martha about a lonely young woman who’s entrusted with caring for her niece after her sister’s death.

Kate (Jones) is an uptight and lonesome executive chef at a classy New York restaurant whose perfectly organised life is thrown out of balance with the entry of her niece Zoe (Breslin) and assistant chef, the brash happy-go-lucky, opera-loving Nick (Eckhart).

Soon, she learns how to trust people and include love in her busy life, but not without some speedbumps along the way.

The story would have been more touching if the emotion of loss was not so stark. The film veers towards depression, loneliness and misunderstanding. Add to this the fact that most of the movie is shot in gray tones, the only colour being in the food.

With too many tight shots, closeups and and sometimes too-bright lighting, Director Scott Hicks has overshot himself in trying to bring the reality of life in this movie. Abigail Breslin doesn’t help much either.
Her depiction of a 10-year-old who has just lost her mother and is trying to cope with her uptight aunt is nothing but painful. If she had been given better direction, she could have upped the mood of the film a bit.
Catherine Zeta Jones is heartwarming. Former suspense film hero Aaron Eckhart comes as a surprise. He is simply adorable and saves the film from becoming too gloomy.

Don’t walk into the theatre thinking it’s a romantic comedy. It’s not. Consider yourself forewarned.