One of the scriptwriters of ‘El Menú’ has described a real life experience that helped him come up with the idea for the filmwhich was released in theaters in November 2022 and opens January 18 on Disney+ and stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot, a young woman whom Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) invites to an exclusive restaurant on a private island and is run by a chef (Ralph Fiennes), known for his stage performances.
An evening… of death
In the film, the restaurant’s theatrical flair is the reason customers don’t notice the eerieness of tonight’s dinner until it’s too late. Recently, Bon Appétit conducted an interview with the scriptwriters Will Tracy and his former co-worker Seth Reiss. During the conversation, Tracy revealed that the inspiration for the film came from a royal fancy restaurant he visited on a remote norwegian island.
Tracy described the dining experience as claustrophobic storytelling, highlighting that customers are really “kidnapped” there during hours:
“The restaurant was like Fäviken. There’s something relentless about all these tasting menus. You can’t leave. You’re being held hostage to a story they tell for hours.”
‘El menú’ perfectly uses that unusual sense that this type of restaurant would automatically evoke in someone who is not used to them. At the end of the movie, Tracy and Reiss were able to incorporate many different elements of that culture. in a thriller that has already garnered awards attention with two Golden Globe nominations.