Film Review: The Menu (Mark Mylod)

A satiating satire that places suspense and dark comedy on the table, The Menu is quite the delectable surprise that brings forth themes of obsession and class featuring scrumptious performances by the entire cast. The film is directed by Mark Mylod and co-written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, and it had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September.

The film follows a self proclaimed ‘foodie’ Tyler, played by Nicholas Hoult and his levelheaded if slightly cynical date, Margot (Anya Taylor Joy) as they attend the exclusive and extremely pricey destination restaurant “Hawthorne”, which is situated on a remote and mysterious island. On the ferry over a small crowd of wealthy patrons join our lead couple, creating a menagerie of expensive individuals with at least three things in common: money, an appetite, and something to hide.

Once arriving at the esteemed establishment, the guests are ushered inside, sat at tables in a split half-kitchen, half-dining room where we meet the intensely peculiar Elsa (Hong Chau). And the man at the helm of this culinary event — the legendary and eerie Chef Julian Slowik, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes.

Slowik, straight from the beginning is a terrifyingly intimidating force, demanding respect and attention as he introduces each ornate and bordering-on-ridiculous dish. The guests are in awe, over-analyzing the minimalist plates adorned with a few drops of gel or flakes of seaweed, discussing the so called “food” and fawning over the work of the chef. All except Margot, who finds the whole thing overly pretentious and laughable, exasperated with her date Tyler who utterly idolizes Chef Slowik. Margot seems to be the only one immediately sensing that something is amiss, even before things slowly unravel into terror and chaos.

Mylod is ingenious at not only creating but holding tension throughout the film, revealing key information bit by bit at a time, but never too much at once — a recipe that basically assures it will keep an audience at the edge of their seat, guessing. In a unique pairing with the palpable tension comes the dark humor of the film— two facets that usually do not go hand in hand in film as laughter famously diffuses any built up tension, but The Menu cooks up a balance that really works. It’s both suspenseful and funny, satirical with an unexpected and enjoyable twist in the third act. It’s also worth nothing that it is a stunning film that boasts some lovely imagery with shots of food that are sure to awaken a hunger in an audience.

The performances are electric, from Fiennes’ commanding presence as head chef, he uses his facial expressions — or lack thereof — to sear fear into his patrons. Then there’s his loyal assistant played by Hong Chau whose menacingly subtle work is near goose-bump inducing. Hoult is fantastic as an obnoxious ‘foodie’, sneaking photos of the dishes and worshipping the ground the chef walks on. Taylor-Joy’s addictive “final girl” energy and attitude throughout is utterly magnetic, as per her usual. This helps lead up to a whirlwind of a finale that may not stick the landing with all audiences, but is quite ingenious and successful in its own right.

With twists, turns, dark humor, shocking moments as well as some important themes, The Menu is an absolute delectable delight. It does well at poking some fun at ‘foodies’ and the absurdities of certain posh communities with an ‘eat the rich’ tone. But makes sure not to take itself too seriously, which is where it has the most fun, taking unexpected and original creative liberties. With killer performances, a tight script and impressive direction, it is sure to be a treat to audiences across the genres.