Cinema Styles: The Menu offers a tasty treat
Film: The Menu (2022) Director: Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones)
Cast: Anya Taylor-joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, John Leguizamo, Judith Light
How to Watch: In Theaters on 11/18 Runtime: 106 minutes Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller Rating: R Awards: 2022 Fantastic Fest - Audience Award
Note: This movie was screened at Fantastic Fest 2022 in Austin, Texas. This was the U.S. Premiere, and included a post-film Q&A with director Mike Mylod, actor Hong Chau, and producer Betsey Koch.
The Menu is a zesty black comedy/horror film from Mark Mylod, known for his work on shows such as Game of Thrones and Succession. It follows a young couple, Margot (Taylor-joy) and Tyler (Hoult), as they travel to a remote island to eat at Hawthorne, an exclusive restaurant run by celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Fiennes). Slowik prepares an intricate meal for an array of upper class customers, combining the idea of food as conceptual art with some shocking surprises.
The Menu is a wellwritten satirical story with excellent dialogue and character development. It’s as hilarious as it is vicious, examining the cross section of vengeance with class anxieties. It’s an unpredictable and tension-filled hybrid between horror and comedy, and it combines its specific selection of ingredients to create a unique dish for its audience. The film is structured like a three-course meal, with each course building off the one that came before. It mixes jarring violence with artistic humor to create its own distinct recipe.
This is a film about the inequality inherent in class divisions, and the often inhumane treatment by the upper class of those considered beneath them. It’s a brutally honest commentary about our materialistic society, and a subtle tirade against late stage capitalism. This movie portrays the wealthy as being a bottomless pit of desire that will never be fulfilled, and holds up a mirror to the increasingly superficial world we inhabit.
The Menu is exceptional because of its phenomenal cast. Anya Taylor-joy and Nicholas Hoult are reliably fantastic as the two main characters, especially Hoult as a pretentious foodie. The rest of the ensemble plays their parts to perfection. It all assembles impeccably, with too many highlights to list. Hong Chau continues to prove she’s one of the best actors working today, once again stealing every scene she’s in. She has a quietly threatening presence that’s unnerving and intense.
Ultimately though, this film belongs to Ralph Fiennes, undoubtedly a legend in the acting world. His performance is complex and one of the best he has ever given. It’s one filled with mystery and unhinged intensity. His character’s precision and neurotic tendencies reflect those of this film itself. In that sense, he’s an avatar for the filmmaking team behind this movie. Both are meticulous in the execution of their plans, and use luxury to obscure a deep-seated resentment of the upper class.
The Menu offers a deliciously unrelenting cuisine of biting satire, unanticipated violence, and class warfare. Somehow it manages to be incredibly entertaining while also maintaining a nihilistic tone. It’s filled with unexpected moments, and will surely leave audiences with something worth salivating over. This is one menu you’ll want to order off of, and who knows, you may return for seconds.
Bobby Styles studied Film at UCLA, and worked as an editor and producer on several film, commercial, and music video projects in Los Angeles. He currently
teaches the intermediate and advanced Video Production courses in the Multimedia & Technology
Academy at Monache High School. His column appears in The Recorder every Tuesday.