The Menu

The Menu

A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 108 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy, Horror
  • Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, John Leguizamo, Judith Light, Rob Yang, Reed Birney, Janet McTeer, Aimee Carrero, Paul Adelstein, Mark St. Cyr, Rebecca Koon, Peter Grosz, Christina Brucato, Adam Aalderks
  • Director: Mark Mylod
 Comments
  • Neon_Gold - 13 January 2023
    Satisfyingly Unique
    It's not perfect but I was engaged for the whole things at least. I was looking for a deeper meaning I think and there just wasn't one there. Motives get muddled and start to just knot them selfs together. There seems to be two concurrent motives. I would have cut the basic one and stuck with the deeper, more subtle one. Because without that, this becomes an episode of Criminal Minds about a disgruntled chef.

    However, it's tense(even tho it shows it's hand too soon), it's gorgeous, the acting is good and like o said, it's engaging so I did enjoy it..

    It was really refreshing to watch a well made movie tho so I would definitely recommend.
  • atticussilkee - 12 January 2023
    A brilliant and insane satire. One of the best of 2022
    The Menu Directed by Mark Mylod. Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy

    This movie was always on my radar. I'm a fan of Anya Taylor Joy and naturally that put this movie right in my wheelhouse. It is also a horror satire. There's some elements of comedy and some genuine terror but outlandish terror. What is the Menu, you might be asking?

    The Menu is about a group of people visiting a high end artsy restaurant. It is theatrical in nature and tailored to each person visiting. The staff are run like a well oiled machine, almost cult-like. But this night is not like any normal night. There is something special planned from this celebrity chef.

    This is all I'll say about the specifics. This movie is best when you are allowed to discover it on your own. You need to allow the story to unfold at the pace that the filmmaker wants you to experience it.

    This one is difficult to talk about because it is all in the experience. Movies like this are special. They don't come around very often. Ones this thought out and planned and know when to take each blindfold off for you to discover a new sensation. It fits with the food motif of the story. You were brought in by the imagery and the mystery. You stay for the people. Ralph Fiennes is amazing in this movie. He does so much with so little. His eyes carry the brunt of the soul. That's the best asset of an actor. His words and his body language tell as much of the story. He carries within him so much. You're fascinated and spellbound at the same time. It is a performance like very few.

    Anya Taylor Joy also carries with her a different story. She carries moxie and her will to fight. She refuses to be stuck in this situation. No clues here folks. This is a class warfare exercise as well. It is about those who serve and those being served. What does that do to people? We sometimes have this idea in our heads of what our dreams will be like in execution and they rarely turn out that way.

    I always dreamed of making a movie and having people watch it. It hasn't turned out in the fashion in my head. Very rarely am I able to grasp the reality of execution. This contains some of that. It has us against them. Is this life worth living? What happens when the flame of creation is snuffed out by commerce?

    It takes these elements and combines them in the best way possible. You have so few questions about the execution. Follow along with the chef. Experience this menu the way it was designed. I think you will have just as good a time as I did. This movie genuinely caught me by surprise. This happens so rarely. I keep chasing it. I want this feeling again and again when watching a movie. I want the world to fade away and give this moment in time. I want to transcend this landscape and be one with the story.

    Movies have done this to me my entire life. It is magical. The Menu was able to achieve that. It makes you hungry. It makes you laugh. It makes you terrified and it makes you angry. It achieves so much. Bravo

    I give this movie an A.