The Menu (2022)
Laura’s Rating: 4/5 Stars
I’ve been wanting to see this movie since it came out months ago and I finally got around to it. Luckily, I managed to avoid most of the spoilers out there and I really enjoyed the film.
The Analysis:
Foodie Tyler and his date Margot have reservations at an exclusive dining experience where they are taken by boat to a private island. The expensive dinner is preceded by a tour of the island for the guests, which include a food critic, a film star and his assistant, some finance bros, and an old money couple. In other words, a diverse swath of elitists make up the guest list. Margot already feels out of place among the group, but as the meal begins, she begins to feel that something is not quite right.
The Menu is darkly funny and unsettling. I wouldn’t call the movie scary but it is, at times, shocking. A parody of the pretentious foodie culture, the culinary team in the movie pushes the limits of what an exclusive gastronomic experience can be. The movie stars Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy, among others, with great acting all around. Taylor-Joy has a talent perfect for the suspense/horror genre and Fiennes played his part perfectly, with just the right amount of subtlety to his expressions.
My initial reaction was that the movie was fantastic. After some consideration, it’s not without its faults. I think there was so much more left to explore and certain plot elements felt underdeveloped. I wouldn’t call the movie unfocused, but it did have a lot of potential for side plots that never really came to fruition. With a relatively short run time of 1 hour and 47 minutes, I almost wish the film had hit the 2 hour mark and taken the extra minutes to tie up some loose ends or expand upon elements that were never fully explored.
The Menu strikes just the right balance of thrilling and suspenseful, yet amusing. The satire feels measured and is noticeable without being heavy handed. The film offers multiple threads of social commentary without feeling preachy and I’d absolutely recommend it if you like a twisted thriller.
留言