Article written for Carleton University’s J-School in the winter of 2023

[Unpublished]

Society’s elite gets roasted (and quite literally too, if you stay for the ending) in The Menu, a darkly-spirited quasi-comedy that holds the hearts of its viewers hostage, like a maniacal kidnapper — one second, striking fear, and the next, walking around aimlessly as it spills its life story. The same can be said about the film’s antagonist, Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), his villain status questionable the more he reveals his cards and whose life’s work has boiled down to the story’s central setting: an open-kitchen restaurant, located on an agriculturally self-sustaining private island.

Before Slowik’s character can be divulged, however, it’s his guests who possess the driving force to the chef’s suggested lunacy, and they come bearing what can be perceived as the typicality of wealth culture, though it’s not immediately obvious — not until several courses into the meal they have all paid exclusively to experience. A star-studded ensemble makes up these wannabe gourmands, and hefty praise for the film can be lent to the deliberate comicality in their every expression and action, coming down to their faces’ every fine line.

We first meet Tyler Ledford (Nicholas Hoult), a self-described culinary connoisseur and fanboy to Slowik’s work, and his suspiciously disinterested date, Margot Mills (Anya Taylor-Joy) as they both wait at the port for the restaurant’s boat transport to arrive, her as she puffs from a cigarette and him as he gripes about her tastebuds being compromised because of it. The boat sets off with them and additionally, a Hollywood has-been and his assistant (John Leguizamo and Aimee Carrero), three business bros (Rob Yang, Arturo Castro and Mark St. Cyr), a food critic and her partner (Janet McTeer and Paul Adelstein) and a couple who regularly dine at Slowik’s (Reed Birney and Judith Light).

Everyone who arrives at the private restaurant — though keep Margot on the backburner here — never eventually leaves. As each course amps up the stakes for the guests, Fienne’s character unleashes his fury with stoic, though at times, grisly tenacity. The chef-critic dynamic is turned on its head, and directly upon the food critic guest herself no less, as Slowik pushes down painfully on the faults and facades of his diners, in an attempt to avenge the loss of his passion for cooking. A commentary on the capitalist craving to milk an art for its dollars, one that was thoughtfully crafted, even while, at times, being a little too on the nose (referencing the ending’s ‘eat the rich’ motif), The Menu had a difficult time running out of script that both turned stomachs and turned up corners of the mouth.

Sharp writing by Will Tracy, who seems to have not yet run out of the skill — he pens HBO’s ongoing Succession series — is prominent and personalized expertly to each character. His best work is spotlighted in Margot, her character’s twist being what brings forth Chef Slowik’s soft spot, which enables him to cook for pleasure as he once did, before those who embodied the system that wrings out passion for profit took charge. Making her on the side of those who don’t take from the chef, she is set free, a to-go box for a cheeseburger in hand. At the same time, his targeted customers sit wearing giant marshmallows for hats, and a pit of graham crackers crumbles in the centre of the dining hall, waiting to be set on fire. Eat the rich, reimagined.

The Menu can be watched on the Disney+ streaming platform.