Food movies lovers are in for a special treat in ‘The Menu‘, the 2022 film by director Mark Mylod. Or, to use the film’s terminology – a very special menu. Food movies have become an extremely popular genre, rivaled perhaps only by the ratings of television shows that show us famous or beginners chefs in action or competing with each other. The cinematic genre is not new, already having its classic films made many decades ago such as ‘La grande bouffe’ or ‘Babette’s Feast’. In the last decade, however, we have seen an explosion of films in this category. We find among them romantic comedies and social satires, historical films or family dramas. ‘The Menu‘ tries and succeeds in being different, a most original combination, from idea to realization. It belongs to this cinematographic genre, but it also dismantles and satirizes its excesses, including the collective obsession with ‘haute cuisine’. It introduces its viewers to a restaurant room where a table costs the same as a Rolex watch, with an open kitchen in which the chef, sous-chefs and their assistants can be seen in action, but this classy atmosphere will soon turn into a horror theater. Mark Mylod, who gained fame directing episodes in several highly successful television series, managed with this only film for the big screen in the last 15 years, made during the pandemic, to intrigue, captivate and delight me.
Chef Slowik invites a select group of guests to a meal that promises to be very special, in his restaurant located on a tropical island. Among the guests are the wealthy who finance his activities, a renowned restaurant critic, a famous actor and a young foodie who has replaced his estranged partner at the last minute with the beautiful Margot, an employee of an escort service. The connections with the rest of the world seem to be severed and the classy guests will soon realize that they are more in an Agatha Christie-style intrigue than in a culinary show. The master chef has prepared a very special menu and the display of his culinary art will be combined with extreme and surprising events that will change not only the course of the evening but also the lives of the participants. The guests were actually carefully chosen, all having connections of one kind or another with Slowik, only the presence of the intruder Margot can disturb the host’s plans.
Director Mark Mylod, along with cinematographer Peter Deming and set designer Gretchen Gattuso, have created a stylish visual ambiance that only accentuates the surprises when they begin to appear. The filmmakers have also enlisted the services of a famous Californian chef and the pace of the action is punctuated by the names of the dishes on the sophisticated menu accompanied by the culinary and not only culinary components. Ralph Fiennes is perfect in the role of the master of ceremonies of this macabre meal, even if the script could have been a little clearer about his psychology and motivations. The one who steals the show, however, is Anya Taylor-Joy who manages to combine comedy with fear, skillfully exploiting her physiognomy, which seems born for horror films. ‘The Menu‘ offers delicious entertainment. To the survivors, of course.