Le Menu

"The Menu" offers a trailer spectacular enough to entice me to set foot in a physical movie theater for the first time in 3 years. Packed with both veteran and burgeoning actors and directed by Mark Mylod of "Succession" fame, this movie has all the goodies to entertain you and make you think at the same time, supposedly. It starts out well enough, introducing quirky mysterious characters starting with Elsa played by Hong Chau. I find her really captivating in this role, a perfect combo of politeness and menace. Why is she dressed like that? Then we meet the Chef who has an agenda that unravels through the perspective of Margot, played by the always-awesome Anya Taylor-Joy. Margot is us, wanting to expose the ridiculousness of it all. Yet herein lies the problem with the movie. Its effort as a biting satire turns into a confusing mess at the end. "The Menu" could have given us something to chew on, instead I walk out of the movie theater scratching my head.

The Menu isn't the first to satirise the rich and their incompetence and isn't saying anything new but that definitely doesn't prevent it from being a great satire that pokes fun at everything it can in ways that are often consistently funny, playful and extremely stylish.

Ralph Fiennes gives a terrific performance full of awkward unease that only enhances his commanding screen presence. Anya Taylor-Joy is a perfect audience surrogate amongst a sea of deliberately unlikeable characters of which the best is Nicholas Hoult whose almost too good at making his character hilariously pathetic.

Mark Mylod's direction is excellent, the film has more than enough visual style to match the pretentiousness of its characters and is really good at building tension. The music by Colin Stetson is fantastic, striking a unusual balance between beautiful and unnerving.

THE MENU is a good and unusual little thriller that proves a breath of fresh air in this day and age. One for the more jaded among us, it provides the kind of surprising, satirical modern-times scenario that I was hoping from GLASS ONION (and which didn't land). This one is variously a mystery, a comedy, a horror film and more besides, and it has depth and a careful skewering of a whole industry which I found more than satisfying. The cast is remarkable too, with each particular actor - from Fiennes to Hoult, Leguizamo to Taylor-Joy - carefully chosen to fit the perfect role for their talents. Appealing!

The Menu is a real treat. It will have you laughing while on the edge of your seat as it navigates you through a restaurant experience to remember.

We are treated to a fantastic ensemble cast. Nicholas Hoult steals the show with a pitch perfect performance of a pretentious foodie. Fiennes is so wonderfully unhinged as the mysterious creator of the eponymous menu in a very layered role. Anya Taylor Joy as always is so watchable, providing such an easy way in for the audience. The writing gives them all such brilliant material which the whole cast executes with ease.

The style and staging of the piece can't be faulted at all. It is precise, inventive, and so clean and polished which makes for a very visually appealing film.

It must be said there are a few rough edges when it comes to the plot, and when you get down to the nuts and bolts the premise isn't necessarily groundbreaking. It is very on the nose at times and subtlety isn't exactly it's strong suit. However it manages to strike a well tuned balance between satire, comedy, and thriller which isn't an easy feat and is impressively managed here.

With its sharp social observations and satire, clean style, and stellar performances, the Menu is a feast that you won't want to end.

The mix between horror and satire seems undecided or bland, the backstory was lacking and the plot presents itself as something grander than it really is. The same hollowness of the dishes carries onto the essence of the movie. Satirizing something that is hollow and giving the final product value is a difficult task, this movie really tries to do that, but given its nature, it didn't quite stick the landing with me.

The cast is simply great, full of recognizable faces and good acting. The cinematography was good, nothing out of this world but enjoyable.

Overall its entertaining, but the delivery of its message is not strong. Even if this flavor of satire wasn't the best suited for me, it kept me intrigued and while not fully satisfied, I enjoyed it.