The Menu (2022) Movie Review
Since the advent of social media it’s become common place to take photos of food before you eat. Scroll through any platform (seriously take your pick) and you’ll undoubtedly see photos or videos of food. We’ve all become familiar with the saying, “The camera eats first” which continues to be cringey. The Menu pokes fun at the absurdity of the explosion of food culture with wit, mystery, and satire.
The movie begins by introducing us to a group of people as they head to a remote island, Hawthorne. This is an exclusive experience to eat dinner from world-renowned Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) and as such is only experienced by the uber wealthy. The group consists of two food critics, an actor and his assistant, an old couple, a group of hedge fund bros, and a young couple. First, they get a tour of the island which is farm to table and where the entire staff of the restaurant live. Then the dining experience begins and right from the start things are odd. Slowik is eccentric and a loud clap from him interrupts the diners chatting and calls his staff to attention. A dramatic introduction from Slowik kicks things off as he encourages his guests to avoid eating and focus on tasting what he’s prepared for them. We’re already off to a pretentious start.
The dishes are ridiculous, as Slowik serves just sauces and sides that should be slathered on bread, but the bread is absent. He calls it non-accoutrement accoutrements which is as hilarious as it is ridiculous. But we could certainly envision a bougie Michelin star restaurant pulling some sort of stunt like this and foodies falling over themselves to try it. Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) certainly is wow’ed by the minimalist approach as he samples different jams and sauces sans bread. At one point, Tyler’s date Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) goes toe to toe with the imposing Slowik saying he hasn’t even served her any food yet and even if he had, he instructed them not to eat. She is the most compelling and mysterious character in the movie and often voices the obvious absurdities on display.
As the dinner goes along, the menu becomes more personal for the guests–at one point tortillas have illustrations burned onto them that correspond to each diner’s life. Lillian (Janet McTeer) the food critic, gets tortillas inscribed with all of the restaurants that eventually closed because of her negative reviews. Although there’s plenty of light banter, something feels off from the moment the movie begins and director Mark Mylod does a good job of keeping the pace moving and the suspense high. Writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy infuse the story with plenty of dark humor and wit that will keep you snickering at the characters and the situation they willingly entered. The ending will leave you slightly baffled and although it’s not entirely believable it is certainly entertaining.
Strong performances all around from the cast make the characters memorable and left us longing to spend more time with each of them to learn their backstories and quirks. The messaging is a little overt (uber wealthy people lose touch with reality, critics ruin livelihoods, fan knowledge doesn’t equal know-how etc.) so don’t expect to learn anything new. But for good performances, a sprinkle of suspense, and a fun dinner party, The Menu delivers and we ate it up.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You’re a self-aware foodie
2. You like dark humor
3. You enjoy suspense
