REVIEW: The Menu is Tasty Good Time
Imagine you have traveled to a coastal island in the Pacific Northwest to eat at an exclusive restaurant. The restaurant is named, Hawthorn and it is run by renowned Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). Joined by a group of other elite individuals, you are promised a night of elegance, luxury, and an experience your tastebuds will never forget. But as the night progresses and secrets begin to emerge, you find yourself trapped in a restaurant on an island with the only way-out being death. What do you do? This is the story that propels Searchlight Pictures’ new film, The Menu.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Anya-Taylor Joy, Nicholas Hoult, just to name a few, the first 20 minutes of the film are relatively slow. Director Mark Mylod spends this time slowly, very slowly, building the thriller. Setting up the players, the environment, and the atmosphere, Mylod and screenplay writers, Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, almost play a chess match with the audience. Leading viewers down one path only to divert paths when the thriller aspect of the story kicks in during these opening minutes. If you can make it through these 20 minutes, I promise you will be on the edge of the seat for its remainder. Mylod creates a psychological thriller that is filled with a few laughs but so many scrumptious twists, and an extremely talented cast that knew their assignment.
Each member of the cast knew exactly what they needed to do to keep the audience engaged and praying for a win. All except Ralph Fiennes, the villain of our story. Fiennes plays Hawthorne’s head chef, Chef Julian Slowik in deliciously devilish way that will have you at no point rooting for him. His demeanor is extremely standoffish, but in constantly in control. He reminded me an extremely scarier version of food critic Anton Ego from Pixar’s Ratatouille with how he held himself and how he captivated a room the second he walked into it.
Anya-Taylor Joy continues to prove why she is one of the best up and coming actresses with her portrayal as Margo. There is something about her that draws you to her in this film and has you never looking away. Her sassy remarks and confident demeanor were also the perfect battle tools to go up against Fiennes’ Slowik. Their back and forth banter, especially towards the end, is one of the many highlights in this film.
Nicholas Hoult, Rob Yang, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Judith Light, Reed Birney. Janet McTeer, Ted (Paul Adelstein, John Leguizamo, Aimee Carrero, and Hong Chau round out the cast and are a delight in themselves. This cast did such a nice job meshing together and bouncing off one another. It truly felt as if you were suffering through the same terrifying dinner as them.
If you are looking for a film that will constantly be playing with your mind even after the credits have rolled, this one is for you. The film doesn’t shoot for slash and gore to get your attention, but rather focuses on the mind and a continuous psychological torture. As I noted earlier, if you can get through the first 20 minutes of the film, The Menu will end up being worth the ride.
Grade: A-