You are in for a treat when sitting down to enjoy The Menu, an extravagant affair that builds tension until it explodes into madness. By the end, as the screen turns black and the credits start rolling, you can’t help but say, “What the fuck?” and stare in pure shock.
When Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) accompanies her boyfriend, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), to an exclusive and remote restaurant, she finds herself in the middle of an uncomfortable experience where nothing is just about the food. And yet, at the same time, everything is.
Directed by Mark Mylod, a frequent director of the Emmy-winning drama Succession, The Menu might be filled with decadent food, but the film uses the food service industry to craft a commentary on the class system.
Dark humour films often feel like they need to push the boundaries, but The Menu understands that it can rely on the wild idea of its premise. The Menu is filled with moments that balance horror and dark humor in a way that leaves you gasping for air. You just never know what to expect from a meal with condiment for bread without any bread and the absurdity of a chase scene for the men while the women enjoy a meal.
As the film progresses and the menu evolves, each plate serves new horror, punctuated by a Food Network-style card to tell us what meal the guests will consume. Things might start normal, while a bit awkward and extreme, but normal is far from what this night will end up being.
With a large cast, the film gives everyone the time to shine. Hong Chau and Arturo Castro as Elsa and Soren get the meatiest scenes. Chau portrays Elsa, Chef Slowik’s (Ralph Fiennes) assistant who takes care of the guests, while Castro portrays Soren, a guest who relies on his money and his boss’ influence to get what he wants. Chau gets to be dark and stoic while Soren shines in this over-the-top performance of a man who slowly loses his cool as everything around him becomes chaos. But even with those two performances, Anya-Taylor Joy and Ralph Fiennes still take the movie. Their mind games are chess matches that both give everything, but Fiennes, in particular, delivers an excellent performance. Much of the movie’s dark humour comes from Fiennes’ deliveries and reactions to what is thrown at him. It is so matter-of-fact and dry but simultaneously filled with nuance.
That praise does not mean that the film does not sometimes fall into what many horror films fall into – plot convenience. There are a few moments where characters take action, and you can’t help but wonder why they would do that. Why aren’t the guests trying more to escape and are playing along to the madness unfolding in front of them? But the script is clever enough to let you in on the secret by having Chef Slowik state the obvious to them. These characters are all rich and full of themselves, but in the back of their mind, they believe they deserve this treatment. It’s a small moment that might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it is enough to forgive a flaw that otherwise might have brought it all down.
The Menu isn’t perfect, but sometimes that can be passable because of how much fun the film is overall. From the humour filtered through the horror elements to the performances, The Menu crafts an exciting commentary on the class system while never trying to excuse the actions of “the villain.”
