The movie fell apart for me when elitist chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) revealed that everyone attending his multi-course menu was going to die. How did he manage to convince his staff numbering in the dozens that they would be giving their life in a carefully arranged suicide mission? And why wouldn't there have been a widespread panic and revolt among the dinner guests? This was akin to being on an airplane hijacked by terrorists. If you were almost certain to die anyway, why not try to take out the mastermind and hope for the best? It just didn't make sense to me, no matter how quirky or original the story tried to be. For anyone paying attention, the film actually did a pretty good job of skewering upper class snobs like food critic Lilian Bloom (Janet McTeer) and her revulsion at a split emulsion, and the would be intellectual Tyler Ledford (Nicholas Hoult), who pretended to know what was going on with each course being served. Like a bread-less bread plate with dime sized accompaniments. Please. Seeing through all the nonsense was Tyler's last minute date Margot Mills (Anya Taylor-Joy) whose name wasn't on the guest list which caused concern for Slowik. He couldn't cow her into submission like all the other zombies at the dinner party when the final course was about to be served. Speaking of which, how does a palate cleanser amount to a full fifth dinner course? Otherwise the samplings went directly from a fourth course 'Mess' to a sixth 'Man's Folly'. The only folly here was a completely irrational acceptance by the entire dinner party, kitchen and waitstaff for the whole thing to blow up, which it did in a fiery sendoff. But I will say this, I would have given anything for that mouth watering cheeseburger when the whole thing was over.
Review of The Menu
The Menu
(2022)
"You will eat less than you desire and more than you deserve."
17 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers