Words by Amy Wild
Revenge is served hot, and The Menu definitely makes flames on their enemies. The Menu was a poem about greed where wealthy foodies get the menu of a lifetime, or should I say their lifetime. The film takes a jab at extremely high-end restaurants and their hard-to-get excess but in a black comedy horror style.
I enjoyed Midsommar, so The Menu was right up my street. It stars brilliant Ralph Fiennes as Chef Slowik and Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot. Who wouldn’t love a film starring those two, and you can’t forget Nicholas Hoult as Margot’s date?
The entire film had cleaver nods about each type of guest you get at a high-end restaurant. You had the Saturday couple, the finance bros, the movie star, the food critics, the Instagram foodie, and Margot: the anomaly.
I found it funny that Geroge Diaz (John Leguizamo) was invited just because he starred in a film that Chef Slowik didn’t like and Felicity accompanied him, who just came from a wealthy family. This film really said, “Eat the rich”. No literally.
Other than the mouth-watering burger at the end, the rest of the food was too fancy, too metaphoric for the normal appetite, which was the point. One of the courses was bread and its dressings but with no bread. But when I finished the film, I really did want to order a burger.
Regarding the costumes, Margot, who was out of place, wore a vulnerable silky nightgown dress, combat boots and a leather jacket, which was grabbed from her at first arrival. This stood out in comparison to the other guests, that wore mainly black and business casual. Of course, all of the kitchen staff wore the same thing – which made sense as they were in a military-style union throughout the film.
All the courses felt like games or a skit in a comedy show but with a dark twist. I don’t want to give away anything major about the film, but for me, it’s a must-see.┬á
