Lampooning the wealthy continues to be a popular pastime in cinematic history, and The Menu is another addition to the canon that does that and more, skewering the culture of excess and entitlement of the uber-rich against the backdrop of a fine dining establishment that gives it guests more than it bargained for.
The film follows foodie Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his unenthused date Margot (Anya Taylor Joy) as they embark on a trip to an isolated island and join the likes of other finance bros, food critics, self-important celebrities and high net worth individuals who fawn over the food and are excited to be seen by others. The enigmatic chef at the centre of it, Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes)
We follow foodie Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his relatively unenthused date Margot (Anna Taylor-Joy) as they embark on a trip to an island for an exclusive dinner to be served by Slowik. The isolated island is also attended by finance bros, food critics, self-important celebrities, and high net-worth individuals who are there to fawn over the food and be seen by each other.
At the island, the enigmatic Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) runs his kitchen efficiently, with his assistant Elsa (Hong Chau) equal parts hospitable and terrifying, while his staff whips up a multi-course meal that begins with unease and turns sinister. Before long boundaries are crossed as Slowik begins to expose the harsh truths of his guests and ultimately punishes them by putting them through intense physical and mind games in an effort to humble them.
All key players are strong in the film, with Taylor-Joy electrifying the screen and Fiennes as sly and cunning as ever. Chau also puts up a fight (literally) in one of the best scenes of the film, while you can feel Hoult’s nervous energy through the screen in his minor, but impactful, scenes.
The direction of Mark Mylod is solid in the way he leans into the sinister moments and his timing of certain breaks soar in the cinema. But he ends up losing the bite of the script and leans into the easy parts of the story that are neither fun nor captivating.
The biggest issue with The Menu is how it satirizes the rich and also provides an interesting character in the form of Slowik. Rather than go all in on why these guests are the ones subjected to the torture and make us laugh along the way in the way that Ruben Ostlund does in Triangle of Sadness, it becomes more indulgent and wearisome as the run time goes on.
By its conclusion, The Menu has lost its focus and makes complete caricatures of its characters. Its strength of dialogue is switched out for lacklustre action and characters simply fall into place despite the overarching goals of Slowik. By giving him more time to be fleshed out, his plan to be better explained, and his true goal better conceptualized, The Menu could have been Michelin star worthy, instead of slightly above average.
Eden Caceda 