The isolated setting looks idyllic to the 12 hand-picked rich, famous or food-obsessed diners, who include Instagram influencer Tyler (Nicholas Hoult, The Great), restaurant critic Lillian (Janet McTeer, Ozark) and Tyler’s last-minute date, Margo (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit). Margo is going to be a problem for Chef Slowik. As the curtain rises on the menu and the guests are presented with a plate of foam, the others are intrigued, but Margo mutters, “Basecamp of Mount Bulls**t”.
Fiennes’ creepy perfectionist chef is a culinary mastermind whose impeccably plated dishes seem innocently delightful at first, but each presentation comes with an increasingly ghastly undercurrent. “You will not eat,” Chef Slowik lectures the diners. “Taste, savour, relish… you will ingest fat, salt, sugar, protein, bacteria, fungi, various plants and animals, and entire ecosystems.”
Soon, Hawthorn becomes as scarily sinister as Bates Motel. Turns out Chef Slowik, assisted by an immaculately-clad team of cooks and an ultra-controlling maître d’, Elsa (Hong Chau, Big Little Lies), has chosen this night to take his revenge on those who haven’t fully appreciated his art. He will use food to humiliate and punish the unsuspecting diners. Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover comes to mind.
Mark Mylod brought in Dominique Crenn, from San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn (Chef’s Table) to help conceptualise Hawthorn’s menu. Satirical touches include laser-engraved images on tortillas revealing diners’ deepest secrets, unearthed by Chef Slowik’s researchers. Menu item ‘Breadless Bread Plate’ consists only of little bowls of savoury emulsions. “Peasants eat bread,” announces Chef Slowik, “not people who pay $1250 a head.”
There are outstanding food close-ups by Peter Deming (Mulholland Drive), and film schools will probably use clips of The Menu to demonstrate how to act. Startlingly gory moments are scattered throughout, but even the squeamish will be gripped by the completely absorbing plot.
Annoyed at Margo’s indifference and wanting to get the better of her, Chef Slowik tries to trick her into revealing her inner self, but it’s Margo who cleverly uncovers what makes Chef Slowik tick, and uses that information to her advantage. Game on. The ending, with Margo trying to escape Chef Slowik’s ultimate move, is a bit over the top, but breathtakingly exciting.
Must see
Movies are rated: Avoid, Recommended, Highly recommended and Must see.
The first person to bring an image or hardcopy of this review to Starlight Cinema Taupō qualifies for a free ticket to The Menu.
