Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Paul Adelstein, John Leguizamo, Aimee Carrero, Reed Birney, Judith Light, Rebecca Koon, Rob Koon, Rob Yang, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Peter Grosz, Christina Brucato, Adam Aalderks, Jon Paul Allyn, Mel Fair, Cristian Gonzalez, Matthew Cornwell, John Wilkins III.
Living is a matter of taste. The varied list of options upon the great smorgasbord of life is one that we either dip in and out of, or depending on the pound on our pocket, might entice us to try a different flavour just for the experience; all this is natural, we eat our way through existence to discovery joy and hold memories firm.
What can be felt as perverted to life itself is to be guided through it by another, an artist of the obscene, and yet many beat a path to sample the unsavoury, to be sat at the table of infamy and be enthralled by the senses of being told that their meal is all a game, a veritable platter of amusement at the expense of those who see the beauty in the simplest of culinary delights.
We all have our pretentious side, the need to qualify for that little extra service, but such is the way of the instant celebrity and the mash up with the child within seeking attention and validation, we have hit peak homage worshiping in the form of small details being overblown gestures, of a thousand-pound dinner being the height of experience instead of being seen as a con derived from patronage.
In one of the most insightful and pleasurable films of the last few years, The Menu, Mark Mylod brings the vision of the repressed and over bearing to their knees, for in the absolute dictatorship of the kitchen, the Chef is more than a King or an Emperor, they are a God, and all those who wish to dine at the table of Ralph Fiennes’ Chef Slowik have at some point tried to ingratiate themselves upon God’s favour.
Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, The Menu is an Avent Gard realisation of the insanity that drives people to think they can attach themselves to the finest in their field by a simple nod, a dropped name, or wording a review in such a way that gives them fame, unearned gestures that reveal the sycophancy of our time.
In a film that is so insightful of the workings of the human tragedy when confronted by the realisation that all has been worked for is misunderstood by those with money, and who can no longer afford to be in touch with the true believers of the masses, and one so in balance with the inner workings of the illustrious kitchen and its power dynamic, The Menu is a brutal examination with glorious undertones of performances by Ralph Fiennes, the superb Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, and a cracking display of critical dependency and presumptuous addiction by the fantastic Janet McTeer as Lillian Bloom.
A treasure of a film, God in his robes, the fawners and grovellers in their pews singing praise him, like another who saw a chance to destroy all they had created, this film finishes with a bang, not a whimper. Absolutely top class.
Ian D. Hall