Rent The Menu (2022)

The Menu review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The Menu is a film all about decadent food and how the stuffy elite who consume it get their just desserts in addition to actual desserts. It’s an immaculate display with a fantastic cast, vicious staging, and brilliant writing that makes this a complete meal. Having had so many of these eat-the-rich films pop up at the cinema in the last few years, it’s refreshing that this one holds itself to a higher standard.

The standard comes in the form of the bitter celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). He’s regarded as a big deal when it comes to wining and dining the wealthiest of clients. Those clients, however, have become snobs that Julian has grown weary of stuffing with meals they don’t consider beyond decadence. He plans on using his power of their wallets and stomachs to showcase the era of their ways in a manner that they’ll hopefully discover by the time dessert is served.

The guest list is a salvo of sinning socialites in need of a satirical jab. Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) is the foodie fan gone overboard, becoming the most annoying dining companion for his date Margo (Ana Taylor-Joy). Lillian (Janet McTeer) is a food critic who has helped elevate Julian but also subjugated many chefs and their businesses with her scathing reviews. A trio of tech investors (Arturo Castro, Rob Yang, Mark St. Cyr) is such pompous bros that are just begging to get murdered with their cocky attitudes and scummy business deals.

Not all of them are as detrimental to society, considering the only reason the washed-up actor George (John Leguizamo) is targeted is that he was in a terrible movie. Look, Julian’s motives for revenge can’t be all that noble. Though I must admit it was funny to hear his reasoning for targeting George’s date when she explains she never had to take out any student loans for her university education: “Sorry, you’re dying tonight.”

Special credit needs to be given to Hong Chau in the role of Julian’s maitre Elsa. While the chef tends to his presentation, she does her best to keep the guests in line while also shielding them from the darker secrets. Her cold and chipper delivery perfectly embodies the desperation and darkness of the situation. At one point in the service, the guests are served tortillas with imprints of their secrets. When questioned about the prints, Elsa merely responds that these are tortillas. When asked again, she enunciates.

The film magnificently darts between dark comedy and even darker horror. As the dinner progresses at Julian’s secluded restaurant on a remote island, the courses become more brutal in their messaging, leading to shocking revelations and brutal tortures. It’s compelling to watch how slowly the customers come to realize they’ve fallen right into a trap, as Julian only slowly starts to inform everybody that this dinner will be their last. You can sense that’s where this whole evening is going but it’s still exciting to watch it unfold. This leads to some incredibly violent moments of gunshots, cut-off fingers, and knives in their throats. Though I dare not reveal the climax, let’s just say that Julian finds the best way to merge a mass slaughter and the final course of the dinner in a poetic manner.

Every actor is in top form for this production but special kudos need to be given to Fiennes and Taylor-Joy who have an amazing dynamic. Not counting on her attendance, Julian becomes intrigued but frustrated by Margot’s appearance, seeing right through her flashy dress to see the middle-class hooker who doesn’t deserve to be there. There’s a brutal honesty between them that isn’t present with others, where it feels like there’s a connection that is made. There’s also a fascinating development with how Margot will have to use her smarts and appeal to emotion and nostalgia to pull a portion of Julian’s humanity out of the bin if only to spare her life.

The Menu is a masterful dose of satire on the class divide. Armed with an impressive ensemble, a dark wit, and an elaborate presentation, it’s hard not to be enthralled by the intoxicating assembly of a film that takes wicked pleasure in humiliating the upper class. I can’t stop thinking about this picture and can’t wait to see it again.