COVID-19 hit the world like a ton of bricks almost three years ago now. Untold lives were changed, nearly one million were lost, and the road to recovery is still slow in many ways with recovery in some aspects uncertain to ever come. Few industries were as affected by the pandemic as was the restaurant industry with estimated job losses for restaurants estimated at one million and the number of restaurants closed during the pandemic’s first year either temporarily or permanently thought to be around 90,000. As people become more frustrated and angered by the world, an uptick on attacks against service workers, flight attendants, even health care workers have seemingly been on the rise. The combination of threats to job stability and physical safety have made a tough, demanding job even harder and put many in the service industry on edge. What has caused such a turn on these workers and just how stressed have these events made them. A new film provides a satirical look at what has happened to the food service industry in modern times.
The Menu focuses on a young couple, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) who jet set off to an exclusive destination restaurant called Hawthorne located on a remote island. They are joined by wealthy patrons such as Hawthorne regular Richard Liebbrandt (Reed Birney) and his wife Anne (Judith Light), finance executives Soren (Arturo Castro), Bryce (Rob Yang), and Dave (Mark St. Cyr) who work for the wealthy venture capitalist who bought Hawthorne; food critic Lillian Bloom (Janet McTeer); and a movie star (John Leguizamo) and his assistant Felicity (Aimee Carrero). The acclaimed chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish tasting menu for the group, but they soon find out during their meal that he has invited them to dine at his restaurant for an alternate purpose, one that includes a dish best served cold.
Films that use satire to provide searing social commentary on society writ large are a dime a dozen. Shit, just last month one of the year’s best films, Triangle of Sadness, did just that. Despite the seeming glut of films seeking to use clever humor to examine society’s ill, The Menu is able to avoid coming across as rote and instead adds its name to the long list of funny yet incisive satirical films in the larger library of film. Its concept of using high-end restaurant culture to critique the class divide, how service workers are treated by those they serve, and how aspiring chefs and their restaurants are chewed up and spit out by the business side of the industry feels fresh and innovative, particularly to this foodie film critic, and contributes to its avoidance of becoming lost in the sea of social commentary films. Director Mark Mylod cleverly and brilliantly incorporates Hawthorne’s fictitious high-end menu into the film itself, including each course’s ingredient list and name as title cards adding to the authentic feel of its setting and backdrop. Fiennes’ performance as Chef Slowik also provides a genuine feeling of the gravitas you’d expect from a Michelin star chef, as well as the bitterness that comes from years of trying to please business partners and customers alike after making your passion and dream into a career and work. Chau is also fantastic as the Hawthorne’s manager (so much so that she was reportedly offered a job as one by the observing restaurant consultant on the film), embodying the attention to detail and high-end service that is customary at the restaurants.
But of course the meat on the bones here is what the film has to say about the world, with co-writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy penning a script that delves into social stratification and the treatment of those who serve people by the wealthier people being serviced. Chef Slowik has become disillusioned and embittered by his experiences, of being criticized by writers like Lillian, unappreciated by customers who take for granted his high-end, high-effort dishes like Richard, or taken advantage of by rich financiers like Soren, Bryce, and Dave. All of the people who he convened for the night are users of others, uncaring about how those they use are affected, with the exception of Margot who was an unexpected guest. Chef sees those who have directly sapped the zeal he once had for cooking as emblematic of the larger issue of how those who see themselves as being above those that serve them in restaurants or on planes or in their homes treat said people and leave them to pick up the pieces after they shatter their lives and dreams. He seeks retribution for all they’ve destroyed, to make them suffer as he has for years now, growing more bitter and cynical after one more acerbic review of his restaurant done for sport or one more unappreciative luxury experience for a customer that won’t even savor it. This cynicism will feel familiar for many in the audience, not just those with service industry experience, but for anyone who started off a journey in an endeavor they loved wide-eyed and excited only to have their enthusiasm beaten out of them by an unkind, unforgiving system. Many of those in attendance at this special dinner ask Chef how they can get out of it, money, attempting escape, physical resistance, but one answer none of the important, monied diners think to use is an appeal using kindness, the kind that speaks directly to Chef. That says it all doesn’t it?
It’s rare to encounter a film that feels as if it speaks directly to you. As a lover of cinema with a message and trying out Michelin-star restaurants nationwide, The Menu felt as if it were made specifically for this film critic. The touches on creating a realistic ambiance for Hawthorne are noticeable and it is meshed perfectly with the social commentary on how class divide dictates how people treat others. The film has impeccable humor and a great cast that delivers on both the serious aspects and the comedy present in the script. Ralph Fiennes is simultaneously terrifying and sympathetic as Chef Julian Slowik and Anya Taylor-Joy offers yet another magnetic performance displaying why she’s this generation’s scream queen. Pull up a chair and savor this five-course cinematic meal whenever you see an open reservation.
Image: Searchlight Pictures
