Cooking seems to be all the rage in Australia these days, with both amateur and professional chefs taking over the airwaves and a new food renaissance taking place in homes and restaurants alike. Diners are expecting more at mealtime and now comes director Jonathan Teplitzky's Burning Man, the cinematic equivalent of a gourmet dish with many elements to savour.

It's somewhat difficult to discuss Burning Man without revealing the surprises the film contains for viewers. There's a specific disjointed design to the film that immediately throws you into the world of Tom, portrayed by Matthew Goode, a hot-shot chef on Bondi with an attitude to match his cooking skills, like a cross between James Bond and Gordon Ramsay. Fragments of Tom's life: failed encounters with prostitutes, selecting the fresh produce and meats for the evening at his restaurant, angry phone calls from as-yet-unknown women; all culminate in a spectacular car crash that sets the screen ablaze and leaves Tom's fate hanging in suspense.

Amidst the chaos, we're introduced to Tom's young son, Oscar (Jack Heanly), who ends up spending his eighth birthday party in jail because of his dad's destructive behaviour. Oscar is one of those kids who you believe could only exist in the movies until you end up meeting a kid just like him at a neighbourhood barbeque. He asks for permission to use swear words, he walks in on his dad having sex and he tells dirty jokes you'd hear from a local at the pub. In other words, he's another one of the boys in miniature stature.

Eventually, Tom's wife, Sarah (Bojana Novakovic), comes into the picture and everything begins to come into focus. In flashbacks to their initial meeting, Goode and Novakovic display a radiant chemistry that aids the film as it shifts from a dramatic puzzle into a tender-hearted romance. It becomes clear why Tom can't cut into a lobster, why he asks his escorts to wear a curly wig and why visions of spontaneous combustion regularly pop into his head. There's a genuine air of mystery to Sarah's presence and it's easy to see why Tom falls for her.

The women in the film are a diverse lot; at times brazen and confrontational, while at others sensitive and comforting. Karen (Essie Davis), Sarah's sister, is perhaps the most well-rounded due to her screen presence, but each of the other actresses (including Kerry Fox, Rachel Griffiths and Kate Beahan) makes an impression on both the viewer and Tom. While it may seem a rather oestrogen-heavy film, the feminine influences work to counter-balance much of Tom's aggression and testosterone for a more even keel.

Based on many of his own personal experiences, Teplitzky's script is filled with moments that run the gamut of human emotion. It wouldn't be uncommon to be smiling through your tears in this film. As with any dish, it's not just the flavour, but also the visual appeal in the 'plating' and the cinematography by Garry Phillips and editing by Martin Connor complement the story and serve the film spectacularly. All the ingredients are together here and they're seasoned just perfectly for a movie that's both challenging and rewarding for the viewer.

It would be remiss not to highlight how outstanding Goode's performance is in this film. He's given a difficult role in having to garner the audience's empathy somehow from the onset when he's behaving like a spoiled child, but it hooks you into wanting to know more. He offers a number of layers to peel back behind this charismatic figure who can get away with just about anything. When emotional moments arise, particularly between father and son or husband and wife, it's hard not to feel Tom's love for life. The film becomes a reminder of things that make life worth living, and it serves a reminder to the viewer how movies place those things into perspective.