Food snobs would pay $1,250 for one meal, travel to some remote island and listen to a demanding chef. But when they realize he’s not exactly playing with a full set of knives, life can get dicey.
That’s the case with “The Menu,” a thriller that finds everyone from a food critic (Janet McTeer) to an obsessed fan (Nicholas Hoult) journeying to Hawthorn, an upscale restaurant in the Pacific Northwest run by Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), a Gordon Ramsay-like chef who has prepared a once-in-a-lifetime meal.
With a phalanx of underlings at his disposal, he carefully crafts each course. Tweezers, eyedroppers and unique utinsels are employed to make the offerings just so.
As the food hits the tables, we get to know the folks there – including three tech workers, a fading movie star (John Leguizamo), a rich couple (Judith Light and Reed Birney) and the foodie’s last-minute date (Anya Taylor-Joy). When she’s misidentified from the start, Margot becomes a source of disruption, something Slowik can’t stand. Never mind he’s from Waterloo, Iowa, and dishes up a “taco Tuesday” course that’s reminiscent of something he ate back home.
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Director Mark Mylod has great fun poking the pretension and coming up with absurd offerings (a bread course, for example, with no bread). Used to being catered to, the guests can’t understand why their host is so inhospitable. They try to use their demanding ways but keep getting rebuffed.
Margot goes on a search-and-discovery mission and learns a bit more about the chef’s past. That’s crucial, particularly since the diners are party to some fairly shocking behavior.
Mylod uses title cards to introduce each course and leaves a little snark there, too. While Fiennes dominates, it’s really Hong Chau, as his maître d’, Elsa who shines. She gives the tour, lays out the ground rules and isn’t afraid to tell rich people “no.”
When Margot is identified as a newbie, Elsa is more than willing to make her feel unwelcome. Chou makes sure everyone – even interlopers — gets the full experience. She’s wonderful – and the source of many laughs.
“The Menu” features plenty of “wild” games and isn’t afraid to go darker, just when you thought it was as dark as it could go.
Hoult is on target as the obnoxious fan; McTeer peppers her conversation with words that could likely figure into a review. When Elsa points out how meticulously sourced the food is, the guests are dutifully impressed.
But they’re not so taken with the chef’s methods. When a death occurs early into the meal, it’s iffy as to who’s being served.
While “The Menu” isn’t as clever as something like “Knives Out,” it does manage to deflate pretense and show just how equal everyone is in a tense situation. It’s funny, but it’s deadly serious. Don’t go with a full stomach and be sure to try the popcorn. It’ll satisfy while you’re trying to determine the real course of action.
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