Directed by Mark Mylod
Written by Seth Reiss, Will Tracy
Produced by Adam McKay, Betsy Koch, Will Ferrell
Starring
Ralph Fiennes
Anya Taylor-Joy
Nicholas Hoult
Hong Chau
Janet McTeer
Judith Light
John Leguizamo
Cinematography Peter Deming
Edited by Christopher Tellefsen
Music by Colin Stetson
Production companies Hyperobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions
Distributed by Searchlight Pictures
Release dates September 10, 2022 (TIFF), November 18, 2022 (United States)
Running time 107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $30 million
Box office $79.6 million
To say The Menu is a dark comedy is understating the issue. This is BLACK comedy, as dark as it gets. Voldemort doesn’t hold a candle to Ralph Fiennes’ Julian Slowik. Imagine crossing The Bear with Eating Raoul, and you might get a vague idea of what this film is up to.
Slowik is head chef at Hawthorne, a legendary restaurant on a private island. He has held this position for quite a few years, it seems. He issues a special exclusive invitation for “The Ultimate Dinner” to a select dozen he’s familiar with; food critics, regulars, and investors in the restaurant. Eleven of them turn up. Food snob and general pretentious phony Tyler Ledford (Nicholas Hoult) shows up, not with his wife, but some appealing arm candy named Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy).
This seems minor, but it is a change that gradually grows in importance in relation Slowik’s careful plans for “the ultimate dinner.”
This dinner features some stunning choreography in the kitchen that would make Carmy Berzatto groan in envy. It’s fair to say that it rivals the exact choreography of a birthday celebration of Great Leader in Pyongyang, and is so staged under a similar threat of grave punishment for any misstep. It is clear that Slowik is absolute master, but the extent of that domination grows beyond just perfect discipline as the dinner progresses.
Even as the suspense mounts, the humor remains gleefully dark and presented with a straight face. It makes for a mesmerizing movie.
It’s available for streaming on Amazon Prime and Fubo.