The Menu

UK Release Date. 18 November 2022
Certification. 15
Running Time. 1 hour 47 mins
Director. Mark Mylod
Cast. Paul Adelstein, Aimee Carrero, Hong Chau, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, Janet McTeer, Anya Taylor-Joy.
Rating. 74%

Review.

I came to Mark Mylod's The Menu with very little prior knowledge. In hindsight, this ignorance was greatly beneficial, for The Menu is far more than a cinematic celebration of haute cuisine and fine dining.

Mylod has assembled a distinguished cast as dinner guests anticipating a dining experience like no other, and my, does the avant-garde chef, Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), deliver. 

The audience is initially introduced to Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), an apparently last-minute date for obsessive foodie Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), who has secured a reservation at Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant on a private island, headed by the renowned Chef Slowik. Tyler and Margot are an odd couple from the outset, with a strange tension between them that suggests a secret waiting to be revealed. Nicholas Hoult delivers a strong performance but Anya Taylor-Joy takes centre stage. She gives Margot a fierce energy that makes her a compelling protagonist. But it is the interchange between Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy that is most delicious. Together they are bliss. Slowik is part Michelin-starred maestro, part cult leader and the hard-headed and sharp-witted Margot is more than a match for the egocentric Chef de Cuisine. Both of them have such an on-screen magnetism that, frankly, I'd be content to watch them read the menu.

Indeed, the delightfully handled course cards, with wryly, pretentious descriptions and mouthwatering food photography, are a feast for the eyes,

• Amuse Bouche: cucumber melon, milk snow, charred lace.
• Course 1. The Island: foraged plants, scallops, sea water.
• Course 2. Breadless Bread Plate: no bread, savoury accompaniments.
• Course 3. Memory: marinated grilled chicken thigh, tortillas, green salsa cubes, red salsa halo.
• Course 4. The Mess: pressure cooked vegetables, roasted fillet, potato confit, beef jus, bone marrow. R.I.P. Jeremy London.
• Palette Cleanser: wild bergamot and red clover tea.
• Course 5. Man's Folly: dungeness crab, fermented yogurt whey, dried sea lettuce, umeboshi, kelp.
• Course 6. S'Mores: marshmallow, chocolate, graham crackers, customers, staff, restaurant.

The script (written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy) drops revelations with a careful sense of pacing and escalation. The orderly reveal of Chef Slowik's plan is the main factor in The Menu's devious joy. It is rare that you have no idea where a film is heading, but once The Menu offers its first shock twist, it keeps the audience off-kilter thereafter. But whilst the film's contempt for arrogance and entitlement is straightforward, there's a disconnect between Chef Slowik's hatred of his dinner guests and the level of their comparative slights (or crimes), some of which are far more personal and disparaging than others. Nonetheless, as Hawthorn's tasting menu becomes even more sinister, it becomes increasingly difficult to look away.

A little uneven, The Menu is a delicious feast of sharp humour and dark surprises.