Originally published in Film Carnage — Rebecca — 05/24/2025
Written and directed by Alyssa Rallo Bennett, when an untimely call throws the bustling restaurant staff into chaos, an unlikely hero emerges to save the day. Starring: Dante Briggs, Mark Vaughn, Rivka Chaim and Vighnesh Dheenahayalan.
Opening up with a mix of the chaos of a working kitchen and the strong presence of working a thankless job, alongside a perky, high energy piece of music was an interesting choice. It stops Dishwasher from immediately building a disillusioned or depressive vibe and helps it to build the theme of hard work with a friendly atmosphere. It’s an unexpected change of pace from the usual intensity and stress found with chefs in film and television. Although the editing work does still do well to add in a good amount of pressure.
Alyssa Rallo Bennett chooses to bring a gentle touch to the story, to make it more about what we sometimes don’t notice, especially when people are pigeonholed or underestimated. Bennett manages to instill an underlying sweetness to the tone, there’s an endearing quality to it. The story also gradually builds a little bit of a cheeky edge which is a nice touch. However, the more that music is used towards the end, it begins to veer Dishwasher into more cliched, sentimental territory which feels like it weakens the ending slightly.
However, the performances never go that way, they maintain an organic feel all throughout Dishwasher. Particularly Mark Vaughn who says very little but has such a patient, steadfast, reliable and generous presence. The way he always seems at peace while being persistently yelled at for one task after another is charming and immediately makes you slightly protective of him. Vaughn builds that idea of being the person everybody relies on, that quietly keeps the ship on an even keel but never gets any credit.
Vighnesh Dheenahayalan adds to that with creating a character who is clearly overworked but voices that in such a respectful manner. He does a great job of portraying the large weight on his shoulders from all parts of his life without really needing to delve into them. Dante Briggs on the other hand creates that persona of feeling all the stress but constantly passing it onto others, asking too much while giving too little. Yet somehow, he’s not dislikable, which Briggs deserves a lot of credit for because this character easily could have been. Then Rivka Chaim adds a touch that makes them feel like a work family, while her character simply tries to get on with her job, in a very relatable way.
Dishwasher takes a gentle approach to exploring a story of being underappreciated, underestimated and overworked, and adds a sweetness to it. There’s something comforting about it, it has a friendly atmosphere, and the performances are nicely grounded…. Alyssa Rallo Bennett chose to take it in a positive direction, which was an interesting change of pace and touching to watch.
Screened as part of the Big Apple Film Festival on May 15
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