The Menu

Because there are so many movies that I want to see right now I decided on another double feature yesterday and I started with The Menu.  I laughed out loud all through this scathing indictment of the privileged class.  A select group, including self-styled foodie Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his date Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), outspoken food critic Lillian Bloom (Janet McTier) and her editor Ted (Paul Adelstein), wealthy businessman Richard Liebbrandt (Reed Birney) and his wife Anne (Judith Light), washed up actor George Diaz (John Leguizamo) and his assistant Felicity (Aimee Carrero), and entitled investors Soren (Arturo Castro), Bryce (Rob Yang), and Dave (Mark St. Cyr), travel by boat to a private island for dinner at Hawthorne, the trendy but exclusive restaurant operated by celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes).  The captain Elsa (Hong Chau) is disconcerted by the fact that Margot is a last minute replacement for another guest but service begins with one pretentious course (with amusing on-screen descriptions) after another.  The guests, especially Tyler, try to out perform each other with their pompous analysis of each dish but Margot is decidedly not impressed.  She soon realizes that the guests are not there by accident and that the chef has sinister intentions.  This is a delicious dark comedy making fun of haute cuisine and those who partake of it but I found the message that success can sometimes ruin the joy that one takes in executing one's craft to be very poignant.  Fiennes gives an over-the-top performance, especially when he imperiously announces each course with a loud clap, but it works so well because he plays it completely straight, especially in his interactions with Taylor-Joy when Margot refuses to fawn over him.  Chau and Hoult are also a lot of fun to watch because their characters are so slavishly devoted to the chef.  What begins as a satire eventually becomes a suspenseful thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat with tension that builds and builds until the action comes full circle with a conclusion that is a hilarious antithesis of fine dining.  Finally, the production design is fantastic and I loved the overhead shots of the meticulously prepared dishes.  This is clever and wildly entertaining (it reminded me of Triangle of Sadness) and I highly recommend it!