Jim Jones; Executive Chef
Going to a once-in-a-lifetime tasting at a restaurant headed by one of (if not the) most renowned chefs in the world sounds like a dream come true to any foodie. (Myself included, albeit vicariously via the Food Network) Two of these lucky guests are Tyler (played by Nicholas Hoult), and Margot (played by Anya Taylor-Joy).
The issue is, something is already not right. No, it's not obvious; at least not to normal people like you and me. Elsa (played by Hong Chau) picked up on it, but she isn't like us. As more and more guest arrive, someone isn't supposed to be there... Ah, don't worry, the feeling will pass. After all, the tasting is just about to start...
This is when we meet the executive chef, Chef Slowik (brilliantly played by Ralph Fiennes). At first he is charismatic and prepares his guest for each tasting with stories. But this little cult like bigrade eventually let on that they know more about their guests than anyone should... That is except for one.
As someone who is enamored with the food world, seeing The Menu satire some of my favorite shows:
- Netflix's Chef's Table with the course spotlight cinematography and ingredients cards.
- Any Celebrity Chef (i.e. Chef Slowik calling someone a 'donkey', clearly a reference to Gordon Ramsey).
...I was delighted that this film leaned into the dark end of how service work can feel sometimes. This film feels cathartic having lived the life of a service worker, and I feel others who have had that experience should be able to connect to the darker parts of the film as well.
The plot culminate in a theme that I think despite what mild morbidity was displayed, most watchers can relate; Be it society's expectations or our own, the more we push toward perceived greatness we run away from that childhood excitement that set up on the path to begin with.
The Menu as a whole, is, well... Something you might hear at an actual tasting: A story of life, it's memories (good and bad) told in 5 courses. If you're part of the menu, you deserve to stay until the end... That is, unless your not supposed to be here; perhaps life hasn't beaten you down enough yet... In-any-case, there is always the cool aid.