MOVIE REVIEW – Billed by its distributor as a horror film, The Menu is both a satire of the food world and a well-timed social critique that also holds up a mirror to the snobbish nouveau riche and defies stereotypes in almost every scene. Ralph Fiennes is brilliant in this film, which is a dark comedy, a soft horror and a thriller, and a movie about haute cuisine.

Regarding food, rich people, and horror, many people have some idea of what to expect from The Menu. Cannibalism, “let’s eat the rich” – social satire mixed with satire – has always been a favorite theme of more arty horror films; after all, one of the most popular recurring memes on Facebook is about how the rebellious population ate a particular Dutch prime minister in the course of history and that might be an alternative in other “certain” Eastern European countries… (“Just saying.”)

“Haute cuisine” like you’ve never seen it before

The Menu is a slow-cooked, killer meal: an entire delicious course with bloody and comic twists and turns, and many more surprises and twists, a delightful cast headed by the brilliant Ralph Fiennes at his best, stunning performances, and a sweet and explosive dessert that lingers long after the bill arrives. It’s also a horror-comedy that’s highly entertaining.

The film is set in the world of “haute cuisine”, where the rich go to the most expensive places, where essential dishes are deconstructed into meaningless platters just for the sake of it, and the guests don’t appreciate the food or the staff, because they are there just to show their class and rank. We’re talking about the kind of restaurant where they serve bread plates without bread, or dishes of a few leaves served on a big stone and covered in sea foam because it represents … something, whatever.

This is the world in which the famous chef Slowik (Fiennes) is trapped. It’s a man who genuinely loves what he does – who has loved cooking for others for years – but is now forced to serve rich assholes who don’t give a shit what they eat. He runs a restaurant on 12-acre Hawthorn Island, an exclusive spot where employees live in bunk beds in a warehouse smaller than a New York apartment. All the ingredients are cut, fished, skinned, harvested, prepared, and cooked on the island every day, and only 12 people are fed a night, with tickets for the menu and seating costing $1,250 each.

On tonight’s distinguished guest list we meet Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), a true “believer” in gastronomic tastes who worships at Chef Slowik’s altar, recognizing every contrived phrase the chef mentions and using words like “zest.” He’s accompanied by his new partner, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), who simply isn’t interested in all this artifice and silly deconstruction but is just here for a good meal. Also arriving on the island is a famous actor in decline (John Leguizamo) and his assistant, restaurant critic Lillian (Janet McTeer), who loves to give pretentious descriptions of food (such as “oh, how ‘succulent’ this soup is”) and her sycophantic magazine editor Ted (Paul Adelstein); a wealthy couple who consider themselves regulars at the restaurant (Judith Light and Reed Birney); and three IT businessmen who are brothers and who, objectively speaking, are probably the worst. However, the customers soon discover that their fancy meal comes with a hefty bill, especially when the bodies start falling.

A little bit of Knives Out, spiced up with some social criticism

If you’re thinking that this sounds a bit like the movie “Knives Out,” you’re not wrong. While it’s not exactly a crime thriller, there’s a bit of a mystery element to much of The Menu. More importantly, writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy enjoy sprinkling the film with a healthy dose of social critique about consumerism and class warfare. Director Mark Mylod (Succession) strives to show really closely how each guest treats the staff to give a sense of how awful they are.

While the cast as a whole is excellent, the standouts are undoubtedly Ralph Fiennes, still at the top of his game, as the chef and Hong Chau (Watchmen, the upcoming The Whale) as the head waiter Elsa. Chau plays an almost cartoonish arch-villain; he exudes warmth with his elegant, sinister presence while telling his guests exactly how they are going to die. And as for Fiennes, it’s about time he finally got his Oscar, for, in this comically evil role, he brings to life the soft-spoken, unvarnished perfectionism and menacing stare of the Chef in an unpredictable yet predictably captivating way. He exudes such authority that no one dares to move, even when he is about to reveal what is about to happen. This is a meticulous man who plans everything down to the smallest detail, even if that detail hides deep pain and frustration.

Horror and blood are aftertastes rather than real meals

As for the other similarities with Knives Out, the humor on the menu is hilarious. The horror and gore are more aftertastes than standout catches, but the thrills and sinister humor remind us of the wicked fun of The Death of Stalin.

If there’s one big negative, it’s that the script leaves the backstories and explanations mostly unexplored, unlike the open kitchen. We know what happens but not why, let alone how it was planned. Fortunately, the story picks up soon enough and offers so much eye-catching stuff that it makes the questions that arise go away.

Speaking of eye-catching things, The Menu looks beautiful. It’s been explicitly filmed like Netflix’s coolest food documentaries, with each dish carefully presented in detail and fun, with on-screen text explaining what’s inside. Likewise, the soundtrack brings an elegance that elevates this meal to the highest level. The result is a real gourmet meal, heavy on the food, after which you will leave the auditorium satisfied with a big grin on your face. This is not a film to watch on an empty stomach – it is, with its descent into horror, none other than the excellent Hannibal.

The Menu is a hilariously witty and comically wicked thriller about the world of upscale restaurants, directed by the phenomenal Ralph Fiennes, with some of the most amazing food footage in recent film history, and a delicious appetizer tasting accompanied by commentary on the service industry, class warfare and consumer society. We wish you all the best!

-BadSector-