It is common for those of us who dedicate ourselves to writing about cinema let’s continually make gastronomic metaphors. Don’t blame us, they look great in any text: this blockbuster is a hamburger that satisfies but doesn’t feed, that plot peppers the film, that other one is pure caviar… If we get gastro-poetic, ‘The menu’ is, literally and metaphorically, a delicious journey of gourmet flavors with the soul of Big Mac.
Waiter, what’s for today?
I’m going to try not to reveal anything about the plot beyond the first few minutes, because it’s best to go see ‘The Menu’ without even having read the plot. It’s a movie so wicked and devilish in its twists that even knowing your starting point can ruin an experience that is better faced as a surprise haute cuisine tasting: the less you know about what you are going to experience, the better for you.
The film directed by Mark Mylod is not a hilarious comedy (nor does it pretend to be): it’s an evil mischief that not only puts the dots on the i’s both for the somewhat tyrannical star chefs who insist that each dish touched by them is art and for foodies eager to enjoy unique food experiences by paying astronomical amounts for a dinner, but it is bright x-raying to today’s society as a whole.
The absurd superficiality, the art, the scam, the slick pretense of always being the one who knows the most about everything in a room. ‘The menu’ begins as a culinary show worthy of the craziest Dabiz Muñoz and little by little it introduces touches of a new trend in cinema with which many of us breathe easy: that of -sorry for the expression- eat the rich Not literally, don’t worry. There are no spoilers here.
We have grilled chicken with salad
‘The triangle of sadness’, ‘Daggers in the back 2’ and now this ‘The menu’ form a beautiful triptych on the current state of mind of society, so sick of people with lots of money that they have ceased to be aspirational items and have become utterly parodiable. If you are able to pay thousands of dollars to try a menu, no matter how good this is, you deserve, at the very least, to be parodied. And this tape does much more than that.
Using a fabulous Ralph Fiennes as master of ceremonies and Anya Taylor-Joy as dissident diner, the dishes flow by, like a river dirtier the further one goes into its current, by way of chapters that go in crescendo until an absolutely tremendous end and that manages to please the public in a big way. Think of a triple encore of your favorite band in which they play your favorite song with the guest of your choice. This level of epicity.
‘The menu’ knows that it has nothing to lose in the current ecosystem of cinema: It is a medium-budget film, not tied to any saga, which only lives on its own originality. And instead of trying to reach the largest number of audiences trying to go unnoticed and offend as little as possible, she throws herself headlong into the audience with a bomb belt. This is the movie that wants to be and is not afraid of showing that it is unique, different, refreshing, bubbling and intended to, above all, entertain an adult audience.
good menu sir
This tape is so smart that almost from the beginning shows his hand in full: some minor card is kept up the sleeve, but the main thing is there. It does not play games with us or try to create a trick based on hiding information. Although the script unrolls the mysteries when the occasion arises, the astute viewer will realize the basis of each of them long before, playing that game that Hitchcock proposed in his conversations with Truffaut: A scene is much more exciting if we know that two people are talking about a time bomb than if it explodes without knowing it exists.
‘The menu’ insists, over and over again, that viewers we have all the elements to understand and assimilate the future of the characters and of the story, trusting that the succession of events will be interesting enough not to need dramatic blows. Well, almost: after the introductions, the beginning of the main plot is given with a fortuitous and commendable twist that forces the public to consider the reality (or unreality) of the events they are witnessing.
A fabulous direction, some actors in a state of grace, a script that leaves nothing unanswered and a tremendous turn of events make ‘The Menu’ perhaps not one of the best films of the year, but yes, one of the funniest, commendable and entertaining, almost without a negative point to blame, since its own occasional obviousness is part of the proposal. Don’t miss it. And for God’s sake, don’t take a look at the ingredients before lights out. Let the surprise guide you.