The Menu

Summary

“Student loans?”

20th Century Fox and Disney/Buena Vista have recently released Searchlight Pictures’ The Menu from on Blu-ray. My wife and I watched the film the other night and both really enjoyed it. Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, the film is a palpable mixture of comedy and thriller that takes place within an exaggerated world of haute cuisine. When I am not writing for my website, my main vocation is within the world of restaurants. As someone within that field, I can say that The Menu is easily the best film to take place within the restaurant world since Jon Favreau’s Chef. It might be the best movie to take place within a restaurant since Big Night. Within the industry, this is the highest praise I can lavish on a food centric film. The comedy in the film is as sharp as a knife, and acidic as concentrated lemon juice. The film is a clever takedown of the classist uber-rich, but it is also a wonderful satire of the bizarre world of over indulgent fine dining. My wife and I both loved the movie.

As the movie begins, Tyler Ledford (Nicholas Hoult) and his date Margot Mills (Anya Taylor-Joy) meet up at a dock. Tyler is a gastronome completely obsessed with the finest details of fine dishes. He has dropped a considerable amount of money for a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience. A boat arrives at the dock to whisk them away to Hawthorn – an exclusive restaurant owned by celebrity Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes.) The restaurant is located on a private island and serves only a limited number of guests per meal. Joining Tyler and Margot are: food critic Lillian Bloom (Janet McTeer) and her editor Ted (Paul Adelstein,) movie star George Diaz (John Leguizamo) and his assistant Felicity (Aimee Carrera,) wealthy business partners Soren, Dave, and Bryce, and wealthy restaurant patrons Richard and Anne Leibrandt. Arriving on the island, they are greeted by their guide and maitre d’ Elsa (Hong Chau,) who gives the guests a full tour of the island and its living spaces. The chef and his crew live on the island and use ingredients foraged from the island itself. After the tour of the island, the guests are ushered into the restaurant, which looks over the water. It is an open kitchen ruled over Slowik with militaristic precision. It is noted that Margot was not originally on the guest list, which seems to upset the staff and maitre d’. As the dining experience begins, the guests are not prepared for what the chef and his staff have specifically planned for each of them.

The Menu is a fantastic dark comedy. I want to commend writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy for truly knowing their subject. The skewering of foodie culture and the world of ridiculously expensive dining is so competently written that my brother and I simply assumed that the writers must have worked in the service industry at some point. The writing of the film is honestly wonderful. The film strikes all the right notes with a mixture of tension and thrills caused by the threat of danger to the guests, but the film never loses its sense of comedic rhythm. The jokes are frequent, and, better yet, they are frequently funny. This is a good example of a film where the writers sifted through their material until the final product was a perfectly concentrated effort. The first time seeing the film holds many excellent surprises, and I would bet that the replayability of this film is extremely high. I look forward to what little nuances I will discover upon rewatching it.

The film is helped along by a wonderful cast. Ralph Fiennes is one of my favorite actors. He showed his brilliant comedic chops in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and his comedic delivery in The Menu almost matches that. Fiennes truly elevates any film and this is another wonderful performance. Anya Taylor-Joy has become an actress to pay attention towards in the last few years. I loved her performance in The Queen’s Gambit, and enjoyed her roles in both The Northman and Last Night in Soho. The Menu once again shows off her sizable talent. Nicholas Hoult is great as the foodie Tyler. Hoult was hilarious in his roles in The Great and The Favourite, and he is a great addition to the cast. He nails the role. Hong Chau is mesmerizing as the ominous maitre d’ of Hawthorn. The cast is rounded out by really good contributions from the entire ensemble.

Director Mark Mylod does a great job with the actors, and the whole film is really well thought out. The production design is excellent. They managed to create the cold and unnatural aesthetic of Hawthorne while also perfectly crafting elevated dining dishes that perfectly skewer the worst aspects of haute cuisine. Cinematographer Peter Deming had worked with David Lynch on some of his best work, and was a great choice for bringing the film’s writing to life. The music by Colin Stetson compliments the film. There is really not an aspect of the film that I found lacking.

The Menu is a wonderful satire. I found the entire film to be perfectly balanced between thriller and comedy and very well executed. I would give this particular menu a five star review and would heartily recommend checking it out.

Video

The Menu has been released onto Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 in 1080p. The film was shot using digital film and Arri cameras using Panavision lenses. The mastering of the film was performed digitally in 4K. The film looks fantastic. From what I can tell, the film looks as good as it possibly can on the Blu-ray format. I would love to have this film on UHD, since it can be streamed in 4K, but as a physical media collector I am happy to have the film in such a handsome presentation on Blu-ray. This is a running theme with the recent releases by Searchlight Pictures. They have done an exceptional job with this transfer.

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds great. From what I have read, the film was presented theatrically with an Atmos track, so if we never see a 4K UHD of this available, that seems like a missed opportunity. That said, I have no complaints with what was presented here. Colin Stetson’s stark score fits the film well. Dialogue is clear and the surrounds are used well.

Supplements:

• Digital Code is included
• Open Kitchen: A Look Inside The Menu – this is a short but really informative look behind-the-scenes of the film.
• Deleted Scenes

Overall Scores:

Video: 5/5

Audio: 4.5/5

Supplements: 2.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

The Menu was my second favorite film of 2022. The film is an acidic takedown of classism and the uber rich while satirizing the world of haute cuisine. The script is fantastic and really understands this world. As a restaurant owner, this film made me laugh frequently as it nailed the little details of fine dining and foodie culture. While everything is exaggerated to the point of satire, the writing is very effective in mixing thrills with dark comedy. The acting in the film is excellent with great performances from Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Johnson, Nicholas Hoult, and a strong ensemble cast. The Searchlight Pictures Blu-ray features excellent video and solid audio. The only downside to this presentation is that there is an Atmos track that has been created, but unless we get a UHD version of the film, this 5.1 track will be the standard bearer. Hopefully we will get a chance to own this film on 4K UHD in the future, but this Blu-ray is an excellent way to own the film. The special features are not substantial but what is presented is very well done. The film earns my highest recommendation and this release comes highly recommended!