The Menu (2022)

The Menu (2022)

7/10

 

Starring

Ralph Fiennes

Anya Taylor-Joy

Nicholas Hoult

Hong Chau

Janet McTeer

 

Directed by Mark Mylod

 

The movie ends with me Googling what happened to Tyler. It’s different—it’s not the way you’d normally structure a movie. This is unique and very interesting. I think the best thing about this movie is how everything stares you right in the face. These are the characters in this remote location, and here’s what’s been said will happen to them. Even though it’s all spelled out, you’re still left wondering: How will they pull it off in the end? Will it be poison, arson, guns, a fight—WHAT?!

The movie is a comedy-horror (or thriller, depending on your perspective), though I didn’t really catch the comedy. Maybe it went over my head, but the idea that a character, who knows how things will end, still decides to bring a date makes that character the worst person I can imagine. For me, this was more of a horror-thriller—well-crafted to capture your attention until the very end.

The story is about a chef (Ralph Fiennes) who seems to have reached the top, with nowhere else to go. He puts together a list of people he blames for his loss of passion for being a chef and invites them to his exclusive restaurant on a remote island for a grand menu they’ll never forget.

However, there’s a wrench in the works: a woman named Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy). She wasn’t on the planned guest list. Unlike the others, who seem thrilled to be served by this celebrity chef, she doesn’t enjoy the experience. She refuses to eat anything, clearly hating how the meals are presented and even rejecting the course before it’s served.

Margot stands out because she doesn’t understand why this chef is celebrated and doesn’t hold back when it matters. Her confidence wavers when one guest’s infidelity is exposed and the man tries to leave but gets hurt. To make matters worse, one of the junior chefs dies after a bizarre conversation.

At this point, everyone wants to get out, and we’re left watching how—or if—they’ll escape, and whether anyone will survive at all.

The acting is fantastic, the writing is wonderful, and the direction is executed with such precision that you savor each moment without noticing how much time has passed.

This is another example of why we don’t need movies to be two or three hours long to be fantastic. Here is a movie, direct to the point and still delivering a masterpiece.