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The obscenely wealthy are having a tough time at the movies lately. Last month, Ruben Östlund stuck a bunch of them on a luxury yacht and watched them projectile vomit all over each other in “ Triangle of Sadness .” Next week, Rian Johnson will stick a bunch of them on a private Greek island to watch them wonder who among them is a killer in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”

But this week, members of the extreme 1% just get stuck—as in skewered, and grilled—in “The Menu.” Director Mark Mylod satirizes a very specific kind of elitism here with his wildly over-the-top depiction of the gourmet food world. This is a place where macho tech bros, snobby culture journalists, washed-up celebrities, and self-professed foodies are all deluded enough to believe they’re as knowledgeable as the master chef himself. Watching them preen and try to one-up each other provides much of the enjoyment in the sharp script from Seth Reiss and Will Tracy .

But the build-up to what’s happening at this insanely expensive restaurant on the secluded island of Hawthorne is more intriguing than the actual payoff. The performances remain prickly, the banter deliciously snappy. And “The Menu” is always exquisite from a technical perspective. But you may find yourself feeling a bit hungry after this meal is over.

An eclectic mix of people boards a ferry for the quick trip to their storied destination. Chef Slowik’s fine-tuned, multi-course dinners are legendary—and exorbitant, at $1,250 a person. “What, are we eating a Rolex?” the less-than-impressed Margot ( Anya Taylor-Joy ) quips to her date, Tyler ( Nicholas Hoult ), as they’re waiting for the boat to arrive. He considers himself a culinary connoisseur and has been dreaming of this evening for ages; she’s a cynic who’s along for the ride. They’re gorgeous and look great together, but there’s more to this relationship than initially meets the eye. Both actors have a keen knack for this kind of rat-a-tat banter, with Hoult being particularly adept at playing the arrogant fool, as we’ve seen on Hulu’s “The Great.” And the always brilliant Taylor-Joy, as our conduit, brings a frisky mix of skepticism and sex appeal.

Also on board are a once-popular actor ( John Leguizamo ) and his beleaguered assistant ( Aimee Carrero ); three obnoxious, entitled tech dudes ( Rob Yang , Arturo Castro , and Mark St . Cyr); a wealthy older man and his wife ( Reed Birney and Judith Light ); and a prestigious food critic ( Janet McTeer ) with her obsequious editor ( Paul Adelstein ). But regardless of their status, they all pay deference to the star of the night: the man whose artful and inspired creations brought them there. Ralph Fiennes plays Chef Slowik with a disarming combination of Zen-like calm and obsessive control. He begins each course with a thunderous clap of his hands, which Mylod heightens skillfully to put us on edge, and his loyal cooks behind him respond in unison to his every demand with a spirited “Yes, Chef!” as if he were their drill sergeant. And the increasingly amusing on-screen descriptions of the dishes provide amusing commentary on how the night is evolving as a whole.

Of these characters, Birney and Light’s are the least developed. It’s particularly frustrating to have a performer of the caliber of Light and watch her languish with woefully little to do. She is literally “the wife.” There is nothing to her beyond her instinct to stand by her man dutifully, regardless of the evening’s disturbing revelations. Conversely, Hong Chau is the film’s MVP as Chef Slowik’s right-hand woman, Elsa. She briskly and efficiently provides the guests with a tour of how the island operates before sauntering among their tables, seeing to their every need and quietly judging them. She says things like: “Feel free to observe our cooks as they innovate” with total authority and zero irony, adding greatly to the restaurant’s rarefied air.

The personalized treatment each guest receives at first seems thoughtful, and like the kind of pampering these people would expect when they pay such a high price. But in time, the specifically tailored dishes take on an intrusive, sinister, and violent tone, which is clever to the viewer but terrifying to the diner. The service remains rigid and precise, even as the mood gets messy. And yet—as in the other recent movies indicting the ultra-rich—“The Menu” ultimately isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know. It becomes heavy-handed and obvious in its messaging. Mind-boggling wealth corrupts people. You don’t say.

But “The Menu” remains consistently dazzling as a feast for the eyes and ears. The dreamy cinematography from Peter Deming makes this private island look impossibly idyllic. The sleek, chic production design from Ethan Tobman immediately sets the mood of understated luxury, and Mylod explores the space in inventive ways, with overhead shots not only of the food but also of the restaurant floor itself. The Altmanesque sound design offers overlapping snippets of conversation, putting us right in the mix. And the taunting and playful score from Colin Stetson enhances the film’s rhythm, steadily ratcheting up the tension.

It’s a nice place to visit—but you wouldn’t want to eat there.

Now playing in theaters. 

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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The Menu (2022)

Rated R for strong/disturbing violent content, language throughout and some sexual references.

107 minutes

Ralph Fiennes as Chef Slowik

Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot

Nicholas Hoult as Tyler

Hong Chau as Elsa

Janet McTeer as Lillian Bloom

Judith Light as Anne

John Leguizamo as Movie Star

Rob Yang as Bryce

Mark St. Cyr as Dave

Reed Birney as Richard

Aimee Carrero as Felicity

Arturo Castro as Soren

Cinematographer

• Peter Deming
• Christopher Tellefsen
• Colin Stetson

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‘The Menu’ Review: Eat, Pray, Run!

Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy face off in this pitch-black satire of class and high-end dining.

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

There is nothing subtle about “The Menu,” but that’s a large part of its charm. Like Hawthorn, the exclusive upscale restaurant where most of the action takes place, this brutal satire of class division — viewed through the lens of high-end gorging — is ruthlessly focused and gleamingly efficient. And by unabashedly flaunting its crowd-pleasing ambitions, the script (by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy) cheekily skirts the very pretentiousness it aims to skewer.

At Hawthorn, set on its own island in the Pacific Northwest, every dish comes with a side of ego and a lecture on its provenance by Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), a rock-star chef with a drill-sergeant’s demeanor. In his dining room, mere feet from an army of obsequious underlings, drooling one-percenters have each dropped $1,250 to wrap their gums around Slowik’s fabled tasting menu. Among them are a star-struck foodie (Nicholas Hoult) and his last-minute date, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy); an arrogant restaurant critic (Janet McTeer); three odious tech workers (Rob Yang, Arturo Castro and Mark St. Cyr); and a fading movie star (John Leguizamo) hoping to pitch a culinary travel show. All except Margot have been carefully chosen, and all are about to become players in Slowik’s elaborate opera of humiliation, self-loathing and revenge.

From amuse-bouche to dessert, Slowik’s creations — and the diners’ punishments — grow steadily more bizarre and threatening. In service to a gleefully malicious tone, Mark Mylod’s direction is cool, tight and clipped, the actors slotting neatly into characters so unsympathetic we become willing accessories to their suffering. Fiennes is fabulous as a man so determined to turn food into art that he’s forgotten its very purpose; his disgust for the act of eating has long extinguished any joy in cooking.

“Even your hot dishes are cold,” spits Margot, the audience surrogate and the first to challenge the insult embedded in each course, like the “bread plate” with no bread. Intrigued by her working-class wiliness, Slowik is unsettled: He can see that she’s willing to take him on.

Whisking splashes of horror into culinary comedy (“Don’t touch the protein, it’s immature,” admonishes the forbidding hostess during a smokehouse tour), “The Menu” is black, broad and sometimes clumsy, attacking its issues more often with cleaver than paring knife. Yet everyone is having such a good time, it’s impossible not to join them. The movie’s eye might be on haute cuisine, but its heart is pure fish and chips.

The Menu Rated R for slaying, suicide and exuberant oversaucing. Running time: 1 hour 46 minutes. In theaters.

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Review: If ‘The Menu’ Makes You Uncomfortable, That’s Because It’s Supposed To

The Ralph Fiennes movie, part horror film and part dark comedy, takes the cult of fine dining to the extreme

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Share All sharing options for: Review: If ‘The Menu’ Makes You Uncomfortable, That’s Because It’s Supposed To

What would you give to have the best dinner in the world? That’s the question The Menu , a new film from director Mark Mylod, seeks to unravel. Would you make the pilgrimage to a tiny isolated island, throw your lot in with just a dozen other diners for the evening, and shell out more than $1,000 per person for the experience? Would you endure the terrifying coolness of the head chef as he describes how you’ll consume “entire ecosystems” during the course of that coveted meal, itself a sea of foams and gels and emulsions? And as The Menu reveals itself to be a sharp, biting critique of the restaurant industry masquerading as a stringent, slow-burning horror film, the question — initially rooted in a certain kind of foodie bucket-list strategy — becomes much more sinister: Are you so willing to consume the world’s finest foods that you’d put your life on the line?

The film, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, and Ralph Fiennes, who plays the harrowingly intense chef Julian, takes clear inspiration from the familiar narratives surrounding “prestige food”: Transition scenes, styled to look like menu cards that introduce each course, are a clear nod to Chef’s Table. The dishes look just like the intricately composed plates you’d see at Noma; that likely has something to do with the involvement of chef Dominique Crenn, who lent her expertise as the film’s culinary consultant. The first course, an assemblage of sea plants, rocks, and “barely frozen filtered sea water,” is apparently such a moving analog that overly enthusiastic foodie Tyler (Hoult) weeps at its beauty as his date, Margot (Taylor-Joy), looks on in disgust.

At its core, The Menu is an extremely dark comedy that examines how class functions in the dining room, among both the people serving and those being served. The restaurant’s privileged patrons, hand-selected by Julian for their proximity to wealth and power, are obvious vehicles for that critique — there’s an actor (played by John Leguizamo), a politician and his wife, and a group of obnoxious tech bros celebrating a birthday. They’re all hiding secrets and indiscretions that chef Julian is somehow aware of, and has chillingly laser-etched onto tortillas for eating alongside a dish of chicken al pastor. In this moment, the patrons — and the viewers — realize that something seriously sinister is afoot.

The Menu indulges in how the hospitality industry caters to the rich — and the kind of entitlement that has bred among those diners. The central plot involves Julian, a familiar type of tyrant in the kitchen, who extends his ruthless reign into the dining room, pushing his guests to increasingly extreme levels of discomfort. He denies them food. He shames them for their wealth. He watches as his VIP guests — who are unfamiliar with any kind of maltreatment in their lives, much less this extreme, performative cruelty — struggle to fathom what is happening to them. Once it becomes clear that no amount of exclaiming “Do you know who I am?” is going to save them from Julian’s planned horrors, the guests shift focus to trying to figure out how to make it through the night alive. As viewers, we’re squirming in our own seats, vacillating between rooting for Julian as he puts a bunch of bratty VIPs in their place and the creeping feeling that he’s gone too far: Fiennes plays chef Julian coolly, with a terrifying undercurrent of simmering rage.

In one course simply called “the Mess,” the mental and physical toll of working under a chef like Julian is explored in especially brutal fashion. The film also gestures to the prevalence of sexual harassment within the industry, including a scene where a woman who refused Julian’s advances is allowed to exact brutal vengeance on his body. It’s the kind of revenge scenario that workers who have been abused by their bosses and coworkers might fantasize about to some extent. But it’s a discomfiting and tense moment, one that questions whether there is actually a way to meaningfully make up for that kind of violence, and one that takes place in full view of the dining room, where guests are expected to continue eating their dinner. The scene feels like an especially pointed critique of the way that the restaurant industry uses stunning spaces and beautiful dishes as a way to hide its abuses.

We know that working in a kitchen can be physically, and mentally, dangerous, but rarely are we confronted with the visceral consequences of that danger. More than that, we often ignore the ways in which restaurant owners and chefs collude to hide those dangers in an effort to keep their diners happy, protect their buddies, and of course, make money. The Menu confronts that reality in a way that feels both obvious and fresh: as the only reasonable conclusion in an industry where workers are deeply undervalued.

Fiennes plays Julian as a product of his ego, crushed by his own expectations and insistence on seeking validation via good reviews and the cash of monied diners. There are points in the film where you almost feel sorry for him, knowing that he’s actually much more pitiful than petrifying, but then he goes back to torturing his patrons in increasingly despicable ways and the feeling of sympathy dissipates. And as for those patrons, don’t be surprised to see parts of yourself in these characters. Anyone who’s ever spent too much money on a fancy dinner has probably said something as annoying and pretentious as any of Tyler’s best lines, and any “foodie” has been guilty of caring more about the way their food tastes than how the people who grow and butcher and prepare it are treated.

By the time the night ends, the fates of the guests are sealed; the ending is funnier than it is frightening, and an excellent cap on nearly two hours of anxiety and panic. The Menu is as much a comedy as it is a horror film, one that anyone who’s ever worked in the restaurant industry will likely appreciate. Who among us hasn’t wanted to take matters into our own hands with an especially annoying customer? And who among us “foodies” hasn’t been one of them?

The Menu opens in theaters on November 18.

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The Menu Is Deliciously Mean

Auguste Escoffier, the inventor of the brigade system that still informs how so many commercial kitchens are run today, was inspired by bullying and battlefields. As a teenager, he got pushed around while apprenticing with his uncle, and as a 20-something army enlistee during the Franco-Prussian War, he saw potential in repurposing military structures to bring order, cleanliness, and hierarchy to the kitchen. The bullying, you could argue, didn’t go away so much as it became sublimated into the profession Escoffier helped elevate to an art, with an emphasis on obedience and discipline. When the FX series The Bear , which is essentially about a group of restaurant workers trying to figure out a better way of doing things when the only models they have are toxic, came out in June, it prompted as many PTSD shudders from industry employees past and present as it did “Yes, chef!” memes.

The kitchen staff in The Menu , a deliciously mean movie from frequent Succession director Mark Mylod and Onion alums Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, bark “Yes, chef,” too, and when they do, it’s with an unsettling martial precision. Whatever haute cuisine’s pretensions — and The Menu skewers many; it is as much black comedy as it is thriller — the kitchen is not actually a war zone. And yet at Hawthorne, a fictional restaurant that seats only a dozen customers a night at $1,250 a pop, workers are pinned between the belief that what they’re doing is worth sacrificing everything for and the reality that they have surrendered their lives to grueling service work. A sad-eyed and scary Ralph Fiennes plays star chef Julian Slowik, who’s both the staffers’ chief abuser and a fellow captive, as well as the guiding force behind a particularly ambitious evening at his exclusive eatery. Fiennes is adept with a barely there sneer, which he puts to great use here in a role that’s the most fun he’s been since Hail, Caesar!

In terms of the diners, there are a few finance bros (Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Rob Yang) more invested in the status that comes with a reservation than the experience itself. There are the celebrities: a preening food critic (Janet McTeer), her editor (Paul Adelstein), and a slightly tarnished movie star (John Leguizamo) in the company of his assistant (Aimee Carrero). Then there are the monied regulars (Reed Birney and Judith Light), as well as a simpering foodie named Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) whose date, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), is the film’s heroine and lone unexpected attendee — the guest list has been as carefully curated as the meal. Tyler is a superfan prone to saying things like “Chefs, they play with the raw materials of life itself, and death itself,” and he’s increasingly exasperated with Margot’s indifference to the food and accompanying narrative, though you can’t really blame her. Hawthorne, located on a small island a short ferry ride from the mainland, feels inspired by the setting of Lummi Island’s the Willows Inn and the Scandi severity of Noma in Copenhagen. But the dishes, designed by actual chef Dominique Crenn, quickly take a turn toward the absurd with a fussily plated amuse-bouche giving way to a “breadless bread course” that’s basically a series of dips — then on to something darker.

There’s no tastier meal than the rich, though what makes The Menu more satiating than other recent, glitzier skewerings of ultracapitalism is that its satire isn’t so glib that it leaves you feeling comfortably outside of the proceedings. Instead, it summons the suffocating feeling of having no way out of a doomed setup. Julian’s breakdown owes as much to the personal and the petty as it does to the systemic. And he and his collaborators — among them an aridly precise maître d’ (Hong Chau) and sous-chefs played by Adam Aalderks and Christina Brucato — have pathos even as their actions veer toward the extreme, while Mylod makes the most of the limited location by turning Hawthorne’s luxurious trappings and surroundings into just a trap. The rage at the heart of The Menu is directed at the impossible melding of art and commerce, at the way we’re taught that success at the former requires the support of the latter, even if it means making crushing compromises that drain the joy out of, in this case, the expressly straightforward pleasure of food. The film has sympathy for the sentiment that there’s no way out of this bargain, but it also appreciates the outrageousness of its own apocalyptic scenario. After all, you can always quit, walk out the door — presuming, that is, that you’re allowed to.

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The Menu review – darkly comic foodie thriller is tasty but undercooked

Toronto film festival: Ralph Fiennes is a sinister chef with a deviously designed menu in a fun, if throwaway, stew of class satire and torture porn

B oasting a director, co-writer and producer who have all served on HBO’s banner business drama Succession, restaurant thriller The Menu arrives with similar ingredients, just cooked at a different temperature. It’s as sleekly designed, all sharp marble edges and oversized wine glasses, and also focused on the grotesqueries of the haves, here being forced to deal with the have nots, serving them an elaborate multi-course dinner at an absurdly ostentatious private island, $1,250 a head – TBC on whether they’ll get to keep their heads by dessert.

The intimate 12-person group represents different types of wealth – old money, new money, Hollywood money – but all are united by their desire to experience the very best. Here that best is taken to the extreme by pretentious chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), whose idea of food is less about enjoyment and more about admiration. His courses are prepared and presented with maximum theatricality and they’re accepted with chin-stroking awe by most of the diners, apart from a bemused Margo (Anya Taylor-Joy) the last-minute replacement date of Tyler (Nicholas Hault), a rather sycophantic foodie fanboy. She’s the voice of reason breaking the coos for a plate of foam and leaves (she calls it the “basecamp of mount bullshit”), but her presence soon irks the chef, whose strict plan for the evening didn’t count on her attendance.

Taking aim at extreme wealth and the extreme stupidity of high-end restaurant excess, writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy have plenty of fun mercilessly throwing rocks at low-hanging fruit in the first act, as mystery surrounds the specifics, and we have plenty of fun watching them fall to the ground one by one. There are some fantastically ridiculous moments, such as the arrival of a breadless bread plate and Janet McTeer’s hilariously awful food critic basking in her own nonsensical wordplay, and while it’s all very silly, it’s also not unrecognisably so. The world of fine dining can very often be one of pompous, straight-faced stupidity and the details of the food and how it’s presented feel informed and loosely real, just a fraction away from something we might expect to see on Chef’s Table (a show both name-checked by a character and watched as research by Fiennes ).

When the cards are kept close, director Mark Mylod’s film is at its most delicious, much armchair detective fun to be had with the age-old setup of strangers brought to an isolated location for a sinister reason (a dusty old subgenre that propagated once again throughout Covid for obvious reasons). The upstairs downstairs class warfare is slight but stings enough; there are some bracing shocks that hit well and despite the acts of violence that start to pile up, the gore is more suggestive than savage: a horror film made for people who can’t usually stomach horror films.

But as the courses progress and the unravelling begins, the ingredients begin to curdle and that sharpness begins to blunt. It’s a mystery that works better when it’s being teased than when it’s being revealed, the promise of a labyrinthine plot replaced with a surprisingly straight line. There are niggles I had in the last act that would be impossible to explain without spoiling, but certain events and decisions felt too improbable or too unexplained, a major character’s survival strategy never making sense (there’s also a grand, emotional swell of music in the finale that feels curiously unearned).

While the plotting around them might feel reheated, there are enough Michelin star performances from both ends of the spectrum to chew on, with a scarily self-possessed Hong Chau coming out on top (on a roll this season with Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale also premiering), alongside the aforementioned McTeer on fine, foul form.

The Menu might not nail some of the more substantial courses but it’ll do as a light snack.

The Menu is screening at the Toronto film festival and will be released in US and UK cinemas on 18 November

• Toronto film festival 2022
• First look review
• Ralph Fiennes
• Anya Taylor-Joy
• Janet McTeer

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‘The Menu’ Review: Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in a Restaurant Thriller That Gives Foodie Culture the Slicing and Dicing It Deserves

It's at once a Michelin Star version of "Saw" and a tasty satire of what high-end dining has become.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

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If you’re someone who considers themself a foodie (and I totally am), chances are there was a moment in the last few years when you had The Awakening. It may have been when the waiter was describing the veal marrow with beet foam served with baby lettuces from New Zealand. It may have been when you were eating the red snapper that was cooked halfway through, like a rare steak, and you thought, “I love sushi, I love cooked fish, but I’m not sure this is really the best of both worlds.” It may have been when you saw the bill.

“The Menu” is a black comedy, but one played close to the bone. And it is a thriller, because after a while what’s being served to the diners segues from pretentious to dangerous. Even the danger becomes a form of snobbery: This is how much the food matters . Yet the tasty joke of “The Menu” is that the food doesn’t matter at all. The food is an abstraction, an idea , all generated to fulfill some beyond-the-beyond notion of perfection that has little to do with sustenance or pleasure and everything to do with the vanity of those who are creating the food and those who are consuming it.

The latter, in this case, are an ensemble of diner victims as brimming with theatrical flaws as the characters in a “Knives Out” movie. That’s why the knives are out for them. They’re getting what they deserve just for coming to this restaurant, for buying into the dream that this is the meal they’ve earned, because that’s how cool and prosperous and elite they are.

Tyler (Nichols Hoult), a devoted foodie geek, already knows he’s going to love everything that’s served. He had brought along a date, Margot ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), who is not nearly as into it — in fact, she turns into the audience’s cynically levelheaded, ordinary-person representative who sees through all the puffery on display. Lillian (Janet McTeer), a food critic, prides herself on writing the kinds of reviews that close restaurants, so we know she’s going to get her just deserts. There’s also a trio of tech bros (Arturo Castro, Rob Yang, and Mark St. Cyr) who, between the three of them, incarnate every flavor of obnoxious. And there’s a well-liked but fading movie star, played by John Leguizamo, along with his assistant (Aimee Carrero), who’s using the dinner as a pretext to part ways with him.

“The Menu” is divided into courses, with each dish, and its ingredients, listed on screen, and for a while the movie is content to satirize the food. The first dish features foam (a tipoff that it’s not going to melt in your mouth so much as evaporate before you can enjoy it). And that’s the down-to-earth dish. Each succeeding one represents more and more of a deconstruction of food as we know it. Chef Slowik is a mad scientist of gastronomy who has reduced the very essence of cooking to a glorified lab experiment. The diners are his guinea pigs, which may be why he harbors a barely disguised contempt for them. As it turns out, the menu he has masterminded is meticulously arranged for all of them to get their just deserts, as if this were the Michelin Star version of “Saw.”  

All the actors are fun, but the two lead actors are so good they’re delicious. Ralph Fiennes plays the art chef from hell as a high fascist of snobbery, as if his mission — to make food that’s to be savored but is somehow too great to eat — were exalting him and tormenting him at the same time. And Anya Taylor-Joy, as the customer who’s got his number, cuts through it all with a sparkle that grows more and more contemptuous, as she puts together the big picture of what’s going on: that the decadent aristocratic superiority of it all is the whole point. The grand finale is bitingly funny, as Chef Slowik deconstructs the ultimate junk food — the smore, a “fucking monstrosity” that will cleanse everything with its fire. “The Menu” says that the trouble with what high-end cuisine has evolved to is that it’s grown too far apart from the low end, leaving nothing in between. No matter how divine the food is, you wind up starving.

Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival, Sept. 12, 2022. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 106 MIN.

• Production: A Searchlight Pictures release of a Hyperobject Industries, Alienworx Productions production. Producers: Adam McKay, Betsy Koch, Will Ferrell. Executive producers: Michael Sledd, Seth Reiss, Will Tracy.
• Crew: Director: Mark Mytod. Screenplay: Seth Reiss, Will Tracy. Camera: Peter Deming. Editor: Christopher Tellefsen. Music: Colin Stetson.
• With: Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Judith Light, John Lequizamo, Reed Birney, Paul Adelstein, Aimee Carrero, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Rob Yang.

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The Menu Skewers Class Politics

The pitch-black comedy examines the ethics of “eating the rich”—and the hypocrisy of “ethical consumption.”

Let’s get this out of the way quickly: The Menu is not—I repeat, not —a movie about cannibalism. I say this not to spoil potential viewers but to reassure, since it’s the first question almost anyone who’s aware of the film has asked me. Just what is going on in Mark Mylod’s pitch-black comedy about a celebrity chef presiding over a very special meal for the wealthy and famous? Something sinister, yes, with an “eat the rich” mentality—but Julian Slowik (played by Ralph Fiennes) is not turning his diners into food, nor is he feeding them other diners.

Even though oligarchs don’t become hamburgers, The Menu is not the subtlest of satires. The world of haute cuisine is filled with pretentious know-it-alls and simpering hangers-on, and this film is overflowing with both. An ensemble of affluent buffoons gather at an exclusive island restaurant, where Chef Slowik is promising to serve the meal of a lifetime. The movie’s tone is immediately acidic, and Fiennes’s performance is hilariously homicidal, so viewers know pretty quickly that the cook has something nasty planned. But the film’s most trenchant insights come at Slowik’s expense, as he reckons with the moral limitations of his mysterious crusade.

Mylod is one of the chief directors on Succession , and he brings that show’s precise visual sharpness to this film, which was written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy. The story is set almost entirely at Chef Slowik’s restaurant getaway, Hawthorne, which serves only a handful of customers, all arriving by chartered boat, each night. Among them are Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), a mega-fan who can recite Slowik’s gastronomic feats down to every liver gel and truffle foam, and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), his date, who seems far less enthused about sucking deconstructed entrées from crystal tubes.

Read: Food, the newest celebrity

Every baffling fancy-restaurant trend is on display at Hawthorne, and each course seems designed to be two steps ahead of the preening guests. Among the crowd are a washed-up movie star (John Leguizamo), a scathing critic (Janet McTeer), and a set of obnoxious finance bros. Tyler sticks out as a genuine admirer of Slowik, but his apparently deep knowledge belies the fact that he is something of a grating dilettante. Mylod stacks the deck against our goodwill for the diners—they’re like loud, horny teenagers barging into an abandoned cabin in a Friday the 13th movie, practically begging to be the victims of a deranged slasher.

So when Slowik begins to gradually unfurl his grander design, an unsettling thrill shoots through the macabre intensity of it all. The dishes start to feel personally pointed, as though the chef is somehow aware of the guests’ darkest secrets; the remote exclusivity of Hawthorne’s island location becomes more and more ominous; and Slowik’s imperious maître d’, Elsa (Hong Chau), quietly but firmly stops anyone from leaving the room lest they miss any of the endless courses. The movie is a Twilight Zone episode spun to feature length, with a hit of Luis Buñuel’s surrealist classic The Exterminating Angel —a 1962 film about rich guests who find themselves unable to exit their sumptuous dinner party.

The Menu is not quite as artful: It delivers its jokes as a series of hammer blows, making sure to villainize the assembled diners beyond any hope of redemption. Mordant presentation of the ultra-wealthy has been a recurring theme in cinema this year. Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness torments billionaires on a cruise ship, and Rian Johnson’s upcoming Glass Onion takes aim at the foolishness of tech CEOs. The Menu is unique, because it casts Slowik as both hero and villain. He’s not wrong to simmer with hatred for his elitist customers, but he’s also seething at the fact that he has, in fact, become one of them, propped up by the very system they created.

That’s where Margot comes in. The Menu ’s one actually relatable figure, she’s played with flinty confidence by Taylor-Joy (who is nearly incapable of being uninteresting on-screen). A reluctant interloper dragged along by Tyler, Margot gets to the bottom of Slowik’s plans and starts flitting between sides, balancing the righteous purity of his campaign against the extreme cruelty of his specific tactics. She calls out his hypocrisy while exploring the ambiguous ethics of “eating the rich,” even metaphorically. Her presence gives The Menu a surprisingly conservative streak, but that, in turn, gives the story some grist, and a dilemma for the audience to ponder on the way out—more food for thought than your average glossy fall thriller tends to offer.

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The Menu Is Not What You Expect— It’s Better

By Esther Zuckerman

Resist the temptation to think you know exactly what’s coming in The Menu . The "eat the rich" social satire has gotten quite a workout in cinema recently, even just at the Toronto International Film Festival, where this new film directed by Succession 's Mark Mylod premiered. Sure enough, The Menu was programmed opposite the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion , both movies that featured a bunch of wealthy assholes gathered on a remote island.

But Mylod’s riff on fine dining and the people who partake consistently zigs where you think it will zag. There is bloodshed and there is retribution, but it's doled out in a way that never feels expected or pat. At the risk of sounding hokey: it's a new spin on a familiar flavor, like pickle ice cream or a chocolate hamburger. The Menu lands its joke about the Chef Table -ification of cuisine while also finding nuance in its “capitalism is a plague” messaging.

The Searchlight Pictures release written by comedy veterans Will Tracy and Seth Reiss opens as a young couple board a yacht that will take them to the exclusive restaurant The Hawthorne, where a seating costs $1,250 a head. Nicholas Hoult 's Tyler is what you would call a "foodie"—he talks about "mouthfeel" and is desperate to photograph everything on his plate, rattling off facts about kitchen appliances. Meanwhile, his date, Margot, played by Anya Taylor-Joy just doesn't get it. With her black nails and combat boots, she's an ill-fit in this crew of bankers, celebrities, and uptight WASPs, and she ignores Tyler's suggestion that she refrain from smoking so as not to ruin her palate. Taylor-Joy radiates a chill, coolest girl in the world vibe, while Hoult is all a-titter. Tyler never gets a significant backstory but Hoult, proving himself again as an unusually talented actor, gives you everything you need to know about this eager-to-please rich guy who uses food as a way to make himself sound interesting.

For a while even after the guests take their seats, The Menu seems like it may just be a take on the ultimate silliness of conceptual food. The officious maître d' ( Hong Chau ) takes the group on a tour of the property, showing off the gardens and the smokehouse, "in the Nordic style." Mylod and cinematographer Peter Deming photograph the dishes as if they were making a Netflix documentary, highlighting the way the line cooks delicately tweeze tiny bits of substance onto a gorgeous but empty looking plate.

But there's a brimming tension that forces the audience to keep guessing just what kind of hell is going to break loose. Each table has its own grievances. Tyler's sycophantic food nerdiness clashes with Margot's "who cares" attitude. There's a frigidness between an older couple played by Judith Light and Reed Birney . A food critic ( Janet McTeer ) picks apart everything that comes across her plate. A movie star ( John Leguizamo ) is bickering with his quitting assistant ( Aimee Carrero ), and a group of bankers is in a never-ending dick measuring contest. The question remains whether this is going to become a vomit-fest like the recent Palme d'Or winner Triangle of Sadness or something supernaturally devilish like the horror movie Ready or Not . Maybe these cooks are just cannibals. The answer is: Not really any of that.

Because at the center of this all is Ralph Fiennes ’s inscrutable Chef Slowik. Fiennes is a master at portraying imperiousness, and Slowik certainly projects that, inspiring fervent loyalty amongst his staff, and thunderously clapping his hands before announcing each course. But Fiennes also strains against this stereotype. As Slowik opines about food as memory and ancient bread customs, you may start to wonder as to whether this guy really believes his own bullshit, a question that keeps nagging until the final shot.

It would be easy for The Menu to fall into blanket dichotomies, but the setting doesn't allow for those. Instead, it interrogates the motives of those who choose to spend their money Iat the The Hawthorne and those who choose to make the kind of food it provides. When Margot, the consummate outsider, is asked to pick a side in the class warfare that is about to break out, the decision is not, exactly, a simple one. Taylor-Joy's natural regalness allows her to slip between tiers, even if at times Margot is more of a dramatic device than actual character.

But the reason you go to a place like The Hawthorne is not just for the substance of the dinner, but also the pageantry, and Mylod provides that. The aesthetic of the uber-rich he helped establish on Succession comes in handy here. There's a beautiful sleekness to the visuals that the wily complications of the script undermine to great effect. It’s comfort food silliness with spiky commentary that leaves you satisfied—all in all, a good meal.

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‘the menu’ review: anya taylor-joy, ralph fiennes and nicholas hoult headline mark mylod’s tasty satire.

A group of epicureans travel to a remote island for the ultimate dining experience in the 'Succession' director's feature premiering at the Toronto Film Festival.

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Mylod is best known for his television direction —  Shameless, Game of Thrones and most recently Succession (for which he’s nabbed an Emmy nomination) — but he’s not new to film. His earlier projects The Big White (in 2005) and What’s Your Number (in 2011) are mostly forgotten, but with The Menu , a movie that flaunts a sharp vision, the director makes an exciting, confident return to film.

Written by Willy Tracy ( Sucession ) and Seth Reiss ( Late Night with Seth Myers ), The Menu follows Tyler ( Nicholas Hoult ), an insufferable epicurean, and his date Margot ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), a woman shrouded in mystery, for dinner at Hawthorn. They are among the restaurant’s 12 guests, who also include a never named actor trying to resuscitate his career (John Leguizamo) and his unhappy assistant, Felicity (Aimee Carrero); Lillian Bloom, a delusional restaurant critic ( Janet McTeer ), and her spineless editor, Ted (Paul Adelstein); Anne ( Judith Light ) and Richard (Reed Birney), a wealthy couple; and Bryce (Rob Yang), Soren (Arturo Castro) and Dave (Mark St. Cyr), a trio of obnoxious tech bros whose boss is Hawthorn’s main investor; and a mystery person I won’t spoil here.

An efficient but unhurried introduction sketches each character enough for us to understand the outlines of their personalities. Everyone, except for Margot, shares a reality of wealth, access and privilege. When we meet the pair, Tyler is admonishing Margot for smoking cigarettes, insisting that she will char her tastebuds. Margot doesn’t care: She can’t relate to Tyler’s reverence of expensive culinary experiences, and finds his devotion humorous.

The Menu is structured around Hawthorn’s tasting menu, and the film’s arresting visual language is reflected in the meals, which are each presented with brief, witty title cards. Elsa leads the diners to the main dining room — a steely open-concept kitchen that flirts with a brutalist aesthetic — after the tour. In Ethan Tobman’s clean-cut production design, grays and cold blues dominate the color palette. The orange from the fireplace lining the walls and the kitchen’s open flames merely add an illusion of warmth.

The guests are seated. The servers push their chairs in and lay napkins on their laps. A chipper sommelier floats through the room offering aged reds and chilled whites. When Chef materializes to greet his captive audience, the buzz dies and eyes settle on him. His introduction is a poetic recitation of his food philosophy. There are sinister undertones, but the enamored diners don’t realize they are caught in a malefic game of cat-and-mouse until the second course (raw diver scallop, pickled local seaweeds and algae). By that time, it’s too late.

Tension builds with the courses, each more outlandish than the last. Tracy and Reiss’ slick, inventive screenplay pokes fun at the stresses of culinary life without cheapening the level of creativity and trust it takes to serve high-caliber meals each night. Collin Stetson’s score — imposing, nail-biting, swelling — further immerses us in the Hawthorn kitchen’s spell.

Myod’s film is strongest when it focuses on process, and portrays just how the staff sautés, cures, ferments, measures, flavors, garnishes and obsessively constructs each dish. In those moments, executing a tasting menu begins to resemble the spectacle of theater: There are high stakes, bigger egos and an endless pursuit of an ephemeral feeling.

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The Menu Review

Ralph fiennes shines in a darkly comedic thriller about haute cuisine..

This is an advanced review out of the Toronto International Film Festival, where The Menu made its world premiere. It will hit theaters on Nov. 18, 2022.

The Menu is a slow-cooked meal with a murderous kick: a delectable full course with a bloody and comedic twist, several surprises along the way, a delightful cast led by Ralph Fiennes at his best, some gorgeous presentation, and a sweet and explosive dessert that sticks with you long after your bill arrives. It also happens to be a bloody good time.

It’s set in the world of haute cuisine, where rich people go to the most expensive place that deconstructs basic meals into senseless plates just for the sake of it, and the guests don't appreciate either the food or the staff because they're just there to show their class and station. We're talking about the type of restaurant that offers breadless bread plates, or courses consisting of a couple of leaves served on a big rock and covered with sea foam because it represents … something, whatever.

That is the world in which the renowned Chef Slowik (Fiennes) finds himself trapped in. This is a man who genuinely loves what he does – who has loved making food for others for years – but now is forced to cater to rich assholes who don't give a single crap about the food they're consuming. He leads the restaurant on the 12-acre Hawthorn Island, a place so exclusive the employees live in bunk beds in a warehouse smaller than a New York apartment. They slaughter, fish, skin, harvest, prepare, and cook every ingredient locally on the island day after day, catering only to 12 people a night, with tickets costing $1250 a head.

For tonight's distinguished guest list, we meet Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), a devout foodie who worships at the altar of Chef Slowik, recognizes every pretentious term Chef mentions, and uses words like "mouthfeel." He is accompanied by his new date Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), who simply does not care about the pretense and the stupid deconstructions, but is here for a good meal. Also arriving at the island is a famous actor in decline (John Leguizamo) and his assistant; restaurant critic Lillian (Janet McTeer), who loves giving pretentious descriptors to food (like "Thalassic") and her boot-licking magazine editor Ted (Paul Adelstein); a rich couple that considers themselves regulars at the restaurant (Judith Light and Reed Birney); and three tech bros who are objectively the worst. Soon enough, they realize their fancy meal comes with a very big bill, especially when the bodies start dropping.

What's the best Ralph Fiennes role?

If you’re thinking this sounds a bit like a Knives Out movie, you're not wrong. Though not really a whodunit, there is an element of mystery for a good chunk of The Menu. More importantly, writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy relish in sprinkling the film with a healthy serving of social commentary about consumerism and class warfare. Director Mark Mylod ( Succession ) makes it a point to really close in on how each of the guests treats the staff in order to drive home how awful they are.

Though the cast is all-around great, without a doubt the standouts are the electric Fiennes as Chef and Hong Chau ( Watchmen , the upcoming The Whale) as maitre d' Elsa. Chau plays an almost cartoony supervillain; an elegant, sinister presence that makes you feel warm and welcome while telling you the exact manner your children will die. As for Fiennes, it’s about time someone let the Oscar nominee be the wicked comedic star he was always destined to be, as he brings Chef's soft-spoken, unblinking perfectionism and threatening stare to life in a way that is unpredictable yet predictably captivating. He exudes authority to the point that even as he lays out what is going to happen, no one dares make a move. This is a meticulous man who plans everything to the smallest detail, even if that detail hides deep pains and frustration.

And – drawing another similarity to Knives Out – The Menu is hilarious. The horror and gore are more aftertastes than prominent dishes, but the thrills and sinister humor bring to mind the wicked fun The Death of Stalin.

If there's one big negative it’s that, unlike its open kitchen, the script leaves backstories and explanations mostly unexplored. We know what is happening, but not why, let alone how it was planned out. Thankfully, the story picks up steam quickly enough and offers so much eye candy to make you forget about your questions.

The Biggest Upcoming Movies and Release Dates | Fall Movie Preview 2022

Speaking of eye candy, The Menu looks gorgeous. Shot like the fanciest of Netflix food documentaries, and presenting each dish with care, detail, and hilarious on-screen text explaining what's in it, this is not a movie you should watch on an empty stomach — that, along with the descent into horror, is not unlike the exquisite Hannibal . Likewise, the score brings a level of elegance that elevates this meal to the highest of high ends. The result is a heavy meal that leaves you satisfied, with a big grin on your face, and a desire for seconds.

The Menu is a hilariously wicked thriller about the world of high-end restaurants, featuring a stellar cast led by a phenomenal Ralph Fiennes, some of the most gorgeous food shots in recent film history, and accompanied by a delicious hors d'oeuvres sampling of commentary on the service industry, class warfare, and consumerism.

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The Menu Reviews

Despite knowing how the story goes and where the twists and turns are, The Menu is a film that I can see myself going back to again and again.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Mar 1, 2024

The movie captivated the audience in a way that held us hostage to Chef Slowik's emotional manipulation. This was cunningly executed.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 29, 2023

The Menu perfectly and sharply captures the milieu of this fine dining world with a scathing takedown of the condescension and pretension that fuels it.

Full Review | Nov 2, 2023

Black satire skewers the world of haute cuisine.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2023

With splashes of horror and comedy, The Menu explores the world of fine dining restaurants. The movie has a stellar cast, including Fiennes and Taylor-Joy, who are incredible and magnetic together.

Full Review | Sep 8, 2023

The Menu delivers an engaging time and will leave the audience with a tantalizing sardonic meal.

Full Review | Sep 6, 2023

...when the writers found themselves in a difficult plot situation, they resorted to the cheat of some sort of magical powers the Chef can weld with a whisper. Each time such a moment happens, the film begins to lose its grip on the reality of horror.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Aug 9, 2023

The Menu is a perfectly cooked, deliciously evil delight of a film that definitely won't be to everyone's tastes, but if it's your sort of dish at all, you're all but guaranteed to love every minute of it.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 4, 2023

This gastronomic experience leaves no space for its comedic quips or food for thought, leaving way too much to be desired.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Jul 29, 2023

In a unique pairing with the palpable tension comes the dark humor of the film— two facets that usually do not go hand in hand in film as laughter famously diffuses any built up tension, but The Menu cooks up a balance that really works.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 26, 2023

“The Menu” is best explained by Hong Chau’s Elsa when she whispers to one of the guests during dinner: “You’ll eat less than you desire and more than you deserve.”

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

A delicious satire that bites right into any industry that people obsess over. A haunting watch but one that will have you laughing & completely in love with the script.

The Menu deserves to be seen with very little knowledge of the plot. Even the trailers (and likely this review) give too much away. It’s a dark, vicious satire that expertly unfolds itself over the course of ten dishes.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2023

A very clean and well-performed movie that lets you get entirely immersed in it with zero distractions from its narrative and its purpose.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 14, 2023

stylish and engrossing and sadistically enjoyable

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 27, 2023

The art of the meal and the consumer’s craving for more more s’more are just two of the topics explored in a far tastier “eat the rich” offering than the overcooked Triangle of Sadness.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 13, 2023

Never the thought and vision of a cheeseburger made such an impression on me. And by this time your appetite should be big for both the food and the movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 3, 2023

The story, penned by Will Tracy and Seth Reiss, is expertly paced, punctuated by gorgeous title cards announcing the dishes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 20, 2023

Bad pretentious art that thinks it's critiquing bad pretentious art, told exclusively through the medium of food metaphors? ...yay.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Feb 15, 2023

It’s a slow-building revelation that will result in a gasp, and then it just builds on the “out there” abilities of a thriller/horror hybrid. Come for Ralph Fiennes, but stay for the outrageously bizarre finale.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Feb 8, 2023

• Searchlight Pictures

Summary A couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

Directed By : Mark Mylod

Written By : Seth Reiss, Will Tracy

Where to Watch

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The Ending of The Menu , Explained

When the food is so good, it's to die for.

In The Menu , r enowned chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) meticulously crafts a dining experience tailored to 11 of the restaurant's patrons—but the unexpected appearance of Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), a sex worker hired to accompany fellow guest Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) to dinner, ruins his plans.

Ahead, we explain the movie's shocking ending. (Proceed at your own risk—spoilers are ahead!)

What happens at the end of The Menu ? Does Margot survive?

Erin, an escort who goes by the name Margot while working), accompanies Tyler, a cult follower of chef Julian Slowik, to an exclusive dinner prepared at Julian's high-end restaurant, Hawthorne. The restaurant, located on a remote island where Julian and his army of kitchen staff live and work, promises a night of culinary storytelling to its wealthy patrons—but, little do they realize that they're on the menu.

Julian plays the part of the mad genius, driven to despair despite his acclaim due to his clientele's nonchalant disregard for his craft. His solution? To liberate himself and his patrons with one last meal, in which he slowly reveals to them the sins of their ways (cheating scandals, money laundering, et cetera). As the night goes on and as people are shot, stabbed, and sliced at, the diners gradually realize that they and all of Hawthorne's workers—including Julian—will die.

Unfortunately for Julian, Erin's arrival throws a wrench in his dinner plans. Tyler, who still willingly came to the island after Julian secretly confided his murderous plans to him ahead of time, hired Erin after his original plus one broke up with him. Initially, Julian attempts to rectify the unforeseen damage by asking Erin to choose a side: stand with the workers or stand with the patrons. She chooses the workers, and Julian sends her on a mission outside of the restaurant to retrieve a canister. Instead, she ventures into Julian's house, where she happens across his treasured career memorabilia, like a photo of him happily flipping burgers when he was a young chef, and a radio. On the radio, she desperately sends out an SOS call, but the Coast Guard officer who arrives turns out to be in on Julian's master plan.

The night forges on, with the last, fatal course imminent. Making a last-ditch effort to escape, Erin confronts Julian head-on, telling him that dessert can't be served yet because she's still starving. She says it like a challenge, which Julian eagerly takes up. When Julian asks her what she'd like to eat, she tells him she wants a simple cheeseburger. What follows is a delicious montage of Julian whipping up the fast food staple, wearing the same rare smile in the photo Erin discovered.

When Julian finishes cooking, Erin graciously accepts the burger, taking a generous bite of the dish. Afterwards, she apprehensively tells him that she overestimated her appetite and asks if she can take the burger to-go. Stunningly, he relents, even giving her a doggy bag for her troubles.

She escapes into the night, heading out into the water via the abandoned Coast Guard boat just in time to see the restaurant erupt into flames behind her. Julian had covered the restaurant and his guests in giant marshmallows, chocolate syrup, and graham cracker crumbles—his lethal interpretation of s'mores—before igniting Hawthorne.

As the ship's engine stalls in the dark of night, Erin, exhausted, sits on the bow and looks out at the fire. She opens up the takeout box and finishes the rest of her meal.

Why did Julian spare Erin's life?

The one thing Julian lacks in his illustrious career as a chef is joy. Erin picks up on this and, in mocking his intellectualism and avant-garde menu, she forces him to rekindle his love of cooking by making her a cheeseburger.

"Ralph’s character and Anya’s character are about connection," director Mark Mylod told Den of Geek . "Ultimately, she has manipulated him. He also realized that she’s manipulating him but he allows her to win. All the unspoken business is in the final discourse between them and the burger. It’s a mutual understanding… and he allows her to go 'checkmate.'"

By restoring his integrity as a cook in his final moments, letting Erin escape death is almost Julian's way of expressing his gratitude.

Why don't the diners fight back?

By the time Julian's sous chef shoots himself in the forehead, it should be apparent to every one of the diners that the night has taken a turn for the worst. And yet, the night progresses with little pushback from the terrified patrons.

As Mylod explains, "The absolute futility of escape coupled with the journey they’ve been on, that whisper in the air of Slowik’s words over that evening, over the dinner, the combination of those two elements is just taking them to a place of absolute naked submission." And it doesn't help that there were plenty of cooks keeping guard at all of the restaurant's exits.

As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset. 

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Common sense media reviewers.

Dark horror-comedy is bloody, funny, and tasty.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Talks at length about artistry and the mysterious,

Margot is the first character to show skepticism t

A woman is the main character. Among the male and

Character shoots self in head: huge blood spurt, b

Dialogue about sexual advances. Brief dialogue abo

Several uses of "f--k," "motherf----r," "Jesus f--

Diners drink wine throughout, sometimes to excess.

Parents need to know that The Menu is a horror comedy about a couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) dining at an exclusive, high-end restaurant where the chef (Ralph Fiennes) has something sinister cooking. It's a very satisfying combination of shocks, laughs, and ideas, and it's recommended to mature…

Positive Messages

Talks at length about artistry and the mysterious, complex connection between art, an artist, and consumers of art. Artists can lose their passion, but audiences can also ruin the work with a lack of appreciation -- or an overly fastidious appreciation. Seems to argue that simplicity, passion, and love are best, while prestige, wealth, and fame can only spoil things.

Positive Role Models

Margot is the first character to show skepticism toward the movie's strange situation -- and the first to stand up for what's right and to try to save herself (and, hopefully, the others). She has a rebellious, devil-may-care attitude. She's not exactly admirable, but she's a fighter.

Diverse Representations

A woman is the main character. Among the male and female diners, there are two Asian men, a Black man, and a Latino man; one woman presents as Latina. All are shown to be flawed or crooked in various ways. Among the chefs, there are a few women (one is Asian), but many are White men; head chef is a White man.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Character shoots self in head: huge blood spurt, blood on floor. Person's finger chopped off, bloody wound. Person stabbed in thigh with scissors. Characters fight over knife; one is stabbed in the neck, gurgling blood. Person hangs self with necktie. Someone is drowned. Another person burns in flames. Other characters die. Chase through woods. Woman jumping at man, slapping him. Explosion.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Dialogue about sexual advances. Brief dialogue about infidelity.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Several uses of "f--k," "motherf----r," "Jesus f---ing Christ," "s--t," "bulls--t," "a--hole," "goddamn," "badass," "pr--k," "hell," "whore," and "oh my God." "Jesus Christ," "Jesus," and "Christ" used as exclamations.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Diners drink wine throughout, sometimes to excess. Main character smokes cigarettes. Brief mention of a character having a DUI.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Menu is a horror comedy about a couple ( Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult ) dining at an exclusive, high-end restaurant where the chef ( Ralph Fiennes ) has something sinister cooking. It's a very satisfying combination of shocks, laughs, and ideas, and it's recommended to mature foodies. Expect gory moments, including blood spatters, a gunshot to the head, a severed finger, stabbing, hanging, a fight over a knife, gurgling blood, a character burning, and more death. Characters use words such as "f--k," "motherf----r," "s--t," "a--hole," "goddamn," "Jesus Christ" (as an exclamation), and more, and there's some dialogue about sexual advances and infidelity. The main character occasionally smokes cigarettes, and all the diners drink wine, sometimes to excess. There's also a mention of a character having a DUI. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (12)
• Kids say (21)

Based on 12 parent reviews

Graphic suicide scene

Unpredictable, occasionally violent thriller is funny and original, what's the story.

In THE MENU, Margot ( Anya Taylor-Joy ) and Tyler ( Nicholas Hoult ) prepare for an evening out at the exclusive Hawthorne facility, where a meal costs $1,250 per person. Tyler is a passionate foodie and a huge fan of Chef Julian Slowik ( Ralph Fiennes ), who runs the restaurant. Only 12 customers will be dining tonight, and the night's menu is designed to tell a specific story. Things start getting strange when the staff discover that Margot isn't on the reservation list (she's taking the place of Tyler's ex-girlfriend) -- and stranger still when the guests are given a bread plate with no bread. But when a sous chef presents his creation as one of the courses and then shoots himself in the head, the guests truly begin to wonder whether it's all part of the show ... or if something more sinister is cooking.

Is It Any Good?

It's complete nonsense, but this very dark horror-comedy strikes just the right notes of stone-cold humor and red-hot malevolence, making for a delectable dish that satisfies all the way down. In The Menu , the guests, as Chef Julian points out directly, never make much of an attempt to save themselves. And even though viewers might find this frustrating, there's truth in their combination of sheer disbelief and sense of decorum. The movie's wicked genius lies not only in its execution but also in its ultimate themes. As the food keeps coming and small things are revealed, some of the guests continue to enjoy the show and eat; it's a fascinating psychological and social experiment. Where does perception end and reality begin?

And even though the ultimate plan in The Menu is a whopper of a doozy, the theme behind it is a thoughtful exploration of art, artists, and their complex relationship with consumers. The Menu balances gut-level humor and horror with higher-minded themes, all with a twinkle in its eye and a gleam of its blade. Fiennes plays the chef with a clever restraint and even a bit of fatigue (he recalls, ever so slightly, his take on Voldemort), forgoing the hints of madness that many other actors usually choose for villain roles. And Taylor-Joy projects strength and independence, indignant when her date tries to shush her by snapping his fingers ("Did you just snap at me?"). Director Mark Mylod , a small-screen veteran from Severance and Game of Thrones , keeps the small-scale, one-location movie feeling fluid and kinetic. Overall, it's a palate-pleaser.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about The Menu 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

Would you consider this a horror movie ? Why, or why not? Is it scary? If not, what makes it horrific?

Have you ever made something for someone who didn't appreciate it? How did that feel? How does art create communication between a creator and a consumer?

How does the movie depict drinking and smoking ? Are they glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

Does Chef Julian take responsibility for his own perceived failings? Does he blame others? What's the difference?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 18, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : January 17, 2023
• Cast : Anya Taylor-Joy , Ralph Fiennes , Nicholas Hoult
• Director : Mark Mylod
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors
• Studio : Searchlight Pictures
• Genre : Horror
• Topics : Cooking and Baking
• Run time : 106 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : strong/disturbing violent content, language throughout and some sexual references
• Last updated : August 29, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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In Theaters and Digital

The menu (2022) - movie review.

In the new satirical comedy The Menu , director Mark Mylod (TV's Succession ) and screenwriters Seth Reiss and Will Tracy (former writers at The Onion ) use the world of food, foodies, critics, and chefs to skewer the soul-sucking relationship between those who take and those who give. In the case of The Menu , the givers are a chef and his service industry colleagues who pour passion into their work, and the takers are those unappreciative little brats who can never be satisfied.

The result is an exciting, tension-filled odyssey that leaves audiences unsettled by its delicious mix of horror and pitch black humor, but satisfied by its energy, suspense and unpredictability. The film’s whip-smart script, with its many layers and surprising twists, is the principle reason it all works as well as it does, while the brilliant performances of everyone involved, particularly from Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy are the film’s ace in the hole.

The story takes place over a single evening at a remote Pacific Northwest coastal island restaurant called Hawthorne where reclusive chef Slowik ( Fiennes ) has promised a lavish tasting menu for a group of select guests.

As the evening unfolds, humorously worded title cards introduce each course which, in turn, disclose new aspects of the story. Throughout the meal, personal secrets are revealed, and relationships are uncovered, as are Chef Slowik’s increasingly sinister intentions. As we eat our way through the evening, each course one-ups the pretentiousness of the one before, until the discomforting social interactions and personal accusations put the guests – and us – on edge.

It all leads up to an astonishing ending that, were it not for the intensifying insanity of the previous 100 or so anything-goes minutes, would need to be ingested with a huge dose of suspension of disbelief. But as it is, the absurdity of the final act feeds right into this satirical thriller’s central message which has a lot to say about the commitment and incessant stress that artists (in this case, chefs) endure in order to maintain perfection day in and day out. It also, in its own wacky way, reminds us to be nice to our service industry workers.

There’s a nice little final girl resolution that involves a hilariously sarcastic guest who refuses to buy into the pretentious bullshit being shoveled out by the givers and takers alike. All in all, The Menu is a fun – and funny – full course meal that has a lot of damaging things to say about a lot of miserable people. The irony here is that the power of satire comes from the fact that it softens the blow of discovering the truth about oneself. After all, it’s easier to take criticism when we’re laughing.

MPAA Rating: R for strong/disturbing violent content, language throughout and some sexual references. Runtime: 106 mins Director : Mark Mylod Writer: Seth Reiss; Will Tracy Cast: Ralph Fiennes; Anya Taylor-Joy; Nicholas Hoult Genre : Comedy | Horror Tagline: Wonderful Surprises Await You All. Memorable Movie Quote: "Here, we are family. We harvest. We ferment. We gel." Theatrical Distributor: Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures Official Site: Release Date: November 18, 2022 DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: Synopsis : 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.

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The Menu Review

18 Nov 2022

Mark Mylod ’s  The Menu  begins as a dressing-down of opulence before transforming into a trashy genre thriller, veering between delightfully silly, and just plain silly. It’s a thriller that’s never quite thrilling enough, though it’s occasionally surprising, starting with the way its lead characters clash over the setting.

Tyler ( Nicholas Hoult ) is a die-hard fanboy of uber-chef Julian Slowik ( Ralph Fiennes ), so the enormous price tag is no object when he has the chance to visit Hawthorne, the chef’s secretive, invite-only restaurant on a lush, secluded island. His excitement is effervescent, if a tad performative. Margot ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), on the other hand, isn’t afraid to make it known how unimpressed she is by all the pomp and circumstance, from Hawthorne’s fancy modernist décor, to the eerily mechanical maître d', Elsa ( Hong Chau ), who is as much a spokesperson as she is an acolyte. Hawthorne is the kind of establishment that demands tireless dedication from its staff, and Mylod satirizes this cult-like kitchen dynamic through amusing exaggerations.

The other diners include an older gentleman who Margot seems to know ( Reed Birney ), a washed-up actor trying to make an impression ( John Leguizamo ), and a rigorous food critic ( Janet McTeer ), all of whom have a full view of the clockwork kitchen from the open dining space. Each time Slowik claps his hands, he commands everyone’s attention. Guests and workers alike hang on Fiennes’ every word, as he passionately describes the emotional impetus behind each deconstructed dish and its theatrical presentation. Before long, the courses begin to take macabre turns that become increasingly personal for the attendees. Unfortunately, while Fiennes may prove joyfully magnetic, this story structure renders all other characters mere passive observers to the plot.

The unfurling plot feels more like a random assemblage of ingredients than a series of carefully considered escalations.

The film’s metamorphosis from measured mystery to horror-comedy comes courtesy of violent accelerations, which arrive suddenly, and often hilariously. The presentation is pristine, akin to a straightforward prestige drama, which yields an amusing disconnect with the mounting absurdities — like Slowik waxing poetic about his violent food-themed horrors and their extravagant staging, practically twirling an invisible moustache. However,  The Menu  struggles to make his philosophical musings amount to much. The unfurling plot, therefore, feels more like a random assemblage of ingredients than a series of carefully considered escalations. The result is tension that dissipates right when it ought to reach its apex.

Fiennes may approach his role with the finesse of Hannibal Lecter, but  The Menu  is seldom more than  Saw dinner theatre — a spectacle that’s fun in a gaudy sort of way, but without taking too many risks. Ironically, that’s a cardinal sin when one works in fine dining. It’s only marginally more forgivable here.

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Menu, The (United States, 2022)

Perhaps the thing that makes The Menu so delicious is the taste that accompanies watching the ultra-rich get trussed up and stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys. A dark satire that skewers privilege and eviscerates the famous, the wealthy, and professional critics (gulp), this film from prolific TV director Mark Mylod takes no prisoners. Although the focus is on (not surprisingly) the menu offered up by famed Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes at his most unhinged), this is no Babette’s Feast . There’s something about torture, bloodletting, and the potential for mass murder that dampens the appetite. Plus, the dishes served to the small group of a dozen diners don’t look all that appealing to begin with.

This isn’t the only movie of its sort exposing the venality and self-absorption of the 1%. It makes a perfect companion piece to Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle of Sadness . Both films have similar goals and use twisted, Monty Python- inspired comedy to get the point across. The Menu comes with more star power than Triangle of Sadness . Although the latter boasts a sloshed Woody Harrelson, this one gives us established actors Ralph Fiennes, John Leguizamo, and Jane McTeer to go along with Nicholas Hoult and white-hot Anya Taylor-Joy. Sporting red hair and an intensity to match, Taylor-Joy goes toe-to-toe with Fiennes and never seems out of her depth. Their scenes together are some of the best moments The Menu has to offer.

The movie plays a little like an offbeat horror film without the horror vibe. One almost roots for the disillusioned and seemingly homicidal chef because most of his diners (with the exception of Taylor-Joy’s Margot) are so repugnant that watching them suffer seems like a good way to spend an hour and a half. Slowik is sympathetic because he embodies the average viewer’s disdain for the entitlement that suffuses the room.

The twelve attendees include two returning frequent diners, Richard (Reed Birney) and Anne (Judith Light); influential food critic Lillian (Janet McTeer) and her obsequious editor, Ted (Paul Edelstein); egocentric techies Soren (Arturo Castro), Bryce (Rob Yang), and Dave (Mar St. Cyr); a famous actor (John Leguizamo) and his assistant, Felicity (Aimee Carrero); foodie Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his date for the evening, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy); and Slowik’s mother (Rebecca Koon). Some, like Richard, Anne, and Tyler, crave the experience. Others, like Soren, Bryce, and Dave, are unimpressed by the pretentiousness of the cuisine. Still others, like Lillian and the actor, use this as an opportunity to show off. Only Margot seems out-of-place and, because her name wasn’t on the original list (Tyler switched dates at the last minute), she represents a fly in Slowik’s ointment. His meticulous plans for the evening didn’t include Margot.

Despite its focus on class issues, there’s no penetrating social commentary to be found in The Menu , which takes it for granted that the ultra-rich are ultra-absorbed and, as a result, deserve to be humiliated and brutalized. That’s where the fun lies and the filmmakers don’t clutter it up with political messaging. Everyone here is a stereotype, even the generally likeable Margot, who represents our portal through the looking glass. There’s a kind of wish fulfillment at work here to go along with a lot of tongue-in-cheek nastiness.

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The 7 Best Movies to Watch Before They Leave Hulu in April 2024

From ‘The Menu’ to ‘Blade Runner 2049’, be sure to watch these films before they leave the streaming platform.

April is right around the corner, and what better way to embrace the changing month than by diving into Hulu ’s top-notch movie collection? While April often brings spring thoughts and blooming flowers, Hulu offers a variety of movies for those looking beyond the blossoming fare. From the culinary horror comedy The Menu to the sci-fi hit Blade Runner 2049 , Hulu’s vast movie library, there’s something for everyone to enjoy, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the April spirit.

Check out these Hulu movie recommendations to accompany the new month. Don’t wait too long, though. These cinematic gems may bid adieu sooner than you think.

'The Menu' (2022)

Fine dining has never been as frightening as The Menu . When a skeptical Margot Mills (Taylor-Joy) tags along with her date, foodie Tyler Ledford (Hoult), on a culinary adventure to a secluded island, all she expects is an overpriced five-course meal with a bunch of pretentious snobs. But when the two finally step into Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant helmed by renowned chef Julian Slowik (Fiennes), they discover that Slowik’s culinary prowess extends beyond the boundaries of traditional fine dining. But amidst the opulence and extravagance Hawthorn offers, guests are met with shocking surprises that each course offers, eventually leading to shocking, and even deadly results. Part satire and part social commentary, The Menu is praised for its slow-burn suspense and performances .

'Mr. Right' (2015)

What happens when the wrong man ends up being your Mr. Right ? Martha (Kendrick) knows this dilemma all too well, having been the joke of failed relationships with the wrong kind of men. On the brink of giving up on love altogether, she unexpectedly finds herself smitten with the unconventional Francis (Rockwell), who, not surprisingly, charms Martha’s socks off. But of course, appearances can be deceiving. As it turns out, Francis is a former CIA and mercenary agent turned professional hitman, who ironically enough, makes it his mission to kill those who misuse his services. Despite his unorthodox career choice, Martha falls for Francis instead. As their relationship deepens, Martha is further pulled into Francis’ world of contract killing, dodging bullets, and evading ruthless criminals determined to kill him.

'Blade Runner 2049' (2017)

Blade Runner 2049 is set in dystopian Los Angeles 2049, in a world now controlled by the Tyrell Corporation’s successor, Niander Wallace (Leto). Newer generations of obedient replicants coexist with outdated models that pose a threat. LAPD Officer “K” (Gosling) is tasked with hunting down these rogue androids . But in the middle of his journeys, K unearths a long-buried secret that threatens to disrupt society’s fragile balance thirty years after the events of the original Blade Runner . His discovery leads him on a quest to locate Rick Deckard (Ford), a former Blade Runner who has been missing for three decades. As K digs deeper into the mystery, he uncovers clues about his past, raising questions about his identity and purpose.

'Ghostbusters' (1984)

In the spirit of the franchise’s latest installment , Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire , take a trip down memory lane with the original Ghostbusters movie. Three eccentric parapsychologists (people who study psychic phenomena) - Spengler (Ramis), Stantz (Aykroyd), and Venkman (Murray) - find themselves booted off their cushy university jobs. Deciding to pursue a different career path, the trio set up shop in an old firehouse and launched a unique ghost removal service. Their popularity soars as they quickly become New York City’s go-to experts in all things paranormal. But when a downtown skyscraper becomes a focal point for supernatural activity linked to the ancient god Gozer, the Ghostbusters face their biggest challenge yet. With the fate of humanity at stake, the three embark on an epic showdown against the living dead. Someone better give them a raise.

'Pacific Rim' (2013)

Humanity faces annihilation in Pacific Rim , as monstrous sea creatures known as Kaiju emerge from a portal in the Pacific Ocean. To combat the relentless onslaught, colossal robots called Jaegers are developed, piloted by pairs of neural-linked individuals. However, as the Kaiju attacks escalate in intensity, the Jaegers struggle to keep pace, pushing humanity to the brink of defeat. Amidst the chaos, former pilot Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) and untested trainee Mako Mori (Kikuchi) are thrust together to pilot an outdated Jaeger in a desperate bid to turn the tide of the war. As they confront their own fears and past traumas, they become humanity's last hope against the impending apocalypse.

'Shazam!' (2019)

Abandoned teen Billy Batson (Angel) navigates a tumultuous search for his birth mother, bouncing between foster homes until he lands with a loving foster family. Unexpectedly chosen by the Wizard Shazam (Hounsou), Billy inherits incredible superpowers , transforming into an adult superhero (Levi) whenever he utters the wizard’s name. Alongside his foster brother Freddy, Billy revels in his newfound abilities, but soon faces a formidable foe: Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong), who harnesses the power of the Seven Deadly Sins. As Sivana threatens to unleash chaos upon the world, Billy must grapple with the responsibilities of his newfound heroism.

'Wonder Woman' (2017)

In Wonder Woman , Diana (Gadot), princess of the Amazons, is raised as a warrior in the secluded paradise of Themyscira. When pilot Steve Trevor (Pine) crashes on their shores and reveals the horrors of World War I, Diana is convinced she can stop the conflict. Leaving her home behind, she ventures into the world of men, discovering her full powers and embracing her destiny as Wonder Woman . Armed with her Amazonian strength and compassion, Diana joins Steve on a mission to end the war, facing unexpected foes and uncovering the truth about her own heritage.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The First Omen

A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hop... Read all A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate. A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.

• Arkasha Stevenson
• Keith Thomas
• Nell Tiger Free
• Ralph Ineson
• Sonia Braga
• 18 User reviews
• 50 Critic reviews
• 64 Metascore

• Father Brennan

• Sister Silva
• (as Sônia Braga)

• Father Gabriel

• Father Harris

• Cardinal Lawrence
• Carlita picture double

• Sister Anjelica
• (as Ishtar Currie Wilson)

• Sister Romano

• Father Spiletto

• Pregnant Woman
• Red Headed Girl
• Smoking Nun
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Burning Questions With Nell Tiger Free

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Did you know

• Goofs The fashion used by the supporting characters, as well as the extras in the film, do not belong to the early seventies, but to the middle of that decade. Additionally, the song "Daddy Cool" by the group Boney M. is heard in a scene. This song was released in 1976 and the film is set in 1971.

Young nanny : [from trailer, played in reverse] Look at me, Damien! It's all for you.

• Connections Follows The Omen (1976)

User reviews 18

• andrewpetrouap
• Apr 4, 2024

New and Upcoming Horror

• How long will The First Omen be? Powered by Alexa
• April 5, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Điềm Báo Của Quỷ
• Viterbo, Italy
• 20th Century Studios
• Phantom Four Films
• Abbey Road Studios
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours

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