The Menu Review: Subversive Dark Comedy About Food & Privilege

If you’re studying a web site like this one, odds are at one level in your life, you’ve gotten overly snobby and nerdy about one thing. Said one thing or acted so offensively pretentious a couple of movie, album or different piece of artwork that you simply even offended your self. If that’s one thing you possibly can relate to, you’re actually, actually going to get pleasure from The Menu. You’ll most likely get pleasure from it both manner, frankly, however in case you’ve ever dropped the deepest lower, annoying reference to make your self sound good, it’ll simply add an entire different degree of appreciation. The Menu is the in the end center finger to snobbery and fashionable social dynamics, instructed in a delightfully intense, hilarious manner.

Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy (each quickly to be of the Mad Max universe) star as Tyler and Margot, two of a choose group of 12 individuals who have paid an exorbitant sum of money for a reservation at Hawthorne. Hawthorne is an award-winning restaurant situated by itself personal island whose head chef named Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) is basically thought-about the most effective on the earth. From the very first second, Tyler’s obnoxious meals vocabulary marks him, and actually the movie itself, as one which’s going to take its topic manner, manner too severely. But that degree of snobbery suits proper in at Hawthorne, which has an nearly disgusting quantity of guidelines, customs, and a menu uniquely tailor-made to its particular clientele. It’s very element oriented. Details that, on this case, start to construct to one thing grander and fairly presumably sinister.

As director Mark Mylod (Succession) slowly begins to unravel the thriller of Slowik’s dinner, he does so within the fashion of the most effective, most excessive finances episode of Chef’s Table ever. We’re speaking full on meals porn, with the detailed descriptions, taste profiles, elaborate reactions, and even on display titles itemizing the dish names and elements. As a consequence, that degree of consolation many individuals get from watching meals tv offers a stark juxtaposition to the more and more intense, fucked up thriller.

And whereas we received’t reveal what particularly is afoot right here (besides to say it isn’t sci-fi, however is so tousled we made the manager choice to cowl it on the location anyway), it’s deliciously (pun meant) satisfying. Slowik has a plan that ties in each individual, dish, and element all resulting in a grand mission assertion that doesn’t simply put his patrons at risk, it turns the mirror on its viewers itself.

The Menu is so critical of its characters, there was probably a danger it could itself turn overly pretentious and snobby like the world it’s poking fun at. Thankfully, the film is so slick and well acted, it never reaches that level. Hoult is an annoying ass, and you love him for it. Taylor-Joy is intense and commanding, and Ralph Fiennes is, well, he’s Ralph Fiennes. Add them to a supporting cast that includes John Leguizamo, Hong Chau, Rob Yang, Janet McTeer, and Judith Light, and you’ve got the perfect icing on this cake of this subversive dark comedy.

The Menu opens in theaters November 18.

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