A couple, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), travel to a remote island where a chef and his crew work, day in and day out, to create masterpieces with their food. When they arrive, however, The Menu and Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) are not what the patrons of the Hawthrone restaurant expected them to be. This restaurant has some tricks up its sleeve–and no one will see these tricks coming.
The Menu is hilarious, and then, in an instant, the tone is flipped on its head. It’s no longer what viewers were first introduced to, but rather something far more intense, far more terrifying. As the horror genre takes a stand, as it solidifies itself in front of viewers, we are pulled into Director Mark Mylod’s orbit, to a place that has never before existed–and it’s simply impeccable. Within that orbit, inside The Menu if you will, viewers are forced into uncomfortable places, horrific pockets of the world in which we live but manage to ignore. We are pulled to diverse corners of our world, and we are made to face the sinister realities that exist in those corners. What was once a comedy, once a horror film, eventually shifts into a satire with those genres sprinkled throughout. The Menu holds a mirror up to us, up to every single person in the world and begs us to rethink everything.
Throughout the course of The Menu a series of personalities are represented. Unique personalities exist, and they play a pivotal role in the everchanging narrative, in the painstakingly meticulous film. Ineptitude, arrogance, delight, infatuation, and more drive this narrative forward–none more important or less important than the others. These personalities play into the satirical nature of the film–reminding us of all that is wrong with us, and all that we should be. The unrelenting juxtaposition of characters is eye-opening, and it's beautiful. It’s a symphony of flavors and personalities that represents this burning world–and Mylod, along with Writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy are unapologetic in their approach toward creating and developing these characters.
The score isn’t good, it isn’t great–it’s simply perfect. The shifting tones, the experimental journey through the most twisted menu you’ve ever seen, and a character study of dark, tragic individuals don’t exist without Colin Stetson’s score. It ranges anywhere from terrifying to angelic–never missing a beat along the way, never failing to strengthen every single moment of The Menu.
The Menu is a film that comes along once every decade or so–it’s not something that appears and reappears in Hollywood, but rather something that exists on its own, separate from the mainstream and the dilapidated and redundant narratives. The Menu truly is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Viewers are taken on a roller coaster of a journey. It’s like fine dining, like a beautiful blend of all the best chefs in the world. I’m so impressed, as every second of The Menu is delicious.
Directed by Mark Mylod.
Written by Seth Reiss & Will Tracy.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Paul Adelstein, John Leguizamo, Aimee Carrero, Reed Birney, Judith Light, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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