The Menu (2022), starring Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Fiennes, and Nicholas Hoult, is a Horror and Thriller based movie written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy.
The Menu (2022) has created a buzz with two nominations for the Golden Globes.
Its thrilling and horrifying theme has put viewers on edge. The movie draws a blurred line between what’s real and imaginary.
In case you were wondering what makes The Menu (2022) so unique and a must-watch, we’ve listed all you need-to-know facts to help you dive right in!
| Information | The Menu (2022) |
| Director | Mark Mylod |
| Producer | Adam McKay, Betsy Koch, Will Ferrell |
| Written By | Seth Reiss, Will Tracy |
| Cast | Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult |
| IMDb Ratings | 7.5/10 |
| Rotten Tomatoes Ratings | 8.8/10 |
| Running Time | 106 Minutes |
| Release Date | November 18, 2022 (United States) |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy, Horror, Thriller |
| Where to Watch | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, and iTunes |
Summary:
A young couple embarks on a trip to explore culinary exquisites prepared by an exclusive chef on an island alongside a group of wealthy elites. As the courses start, mystery and horror develop.
Where To Watch
Though The Menu (2022) is comparatively a very newly released movie, if you’re living in the USA, you can stream it online through:
- Netflix
- Hulu
- Amazon Instant Video
- Google Play
- iTunes
Story Line:
The Menu (2022) movie follows a young couple, Tyler, played by Nicholas Hoult, and Margot, played by Anya Taylor Joy, on a culinary trip to an island with wealthy elites.
Tyler and Margot are aboard a cruise that takes them along with the elite group to a privately owned island.
Upon arrival, the group is shown around the island and its facilities. The strange disciplined environment around the island weirds out the group.
After the tour, the group is escorted to the dining area, where they begin entertaining the appetizer courses.
Before the arrival of courses, the group is introduced to a set of distinct rules, such as not conversing with the cooks and not taking any photos of the dishes.
One of the main characters, Tyler, don’t follow the rules and converses with the cooks and takes photos of the food served before him. The character of Tyler is portrayed as a culinary enthusiast who lacks practicality in some issues.
Each dish prepared and served comes with a thrilling introduction. Every introduction is full of depth, at times which felt cynical.
A dish is served without bread, representing the historical allegory of the poor being providers to the rich. This is where the group starts getting uncomfortable and suspicious about the entire course.
The story develops with each character engrossed in their conversations.
The group is introduced to one of the main courses inspired by taco night. The Chef, played by Ralph Fiennes, presents a gory back story of his life which influenced this creation.
The Chef then surprises the group by revealing something special engraved on the tacos. Each taco contains a very detailed image.
The tacos received by each guest were individually symbolic. Some have very personal details. This stuns the entire group.
When indulging in the taco night course, the main leads, Tyler and Margot, get into an ugly argument, with Tyler being disrespectful.
Margot got very upset and decided to use the ladies’ room. When searching for the ladies’ room, she comes across a silver door whose access is restricted.
The Chef follows Margot into the ladies’ room and questions her identity and why she wasn’t eating.
The identity of Margot was a matter of question as she wasn’t the decided date for Tyler.
The story takes a drastic turn when a cook takes his life in front of the dining group. The cook takes his life because he feels like he didn’t do his job correctly.
This event shocks the group to its core and blurs a line between reality.
The next dish served after the cook’s death is named “Devastation”, putting the event of the suicide as the central theme.
One of the guests became fed up with what was happening and attempted to leave. He was met by the servers and guards at the door who enforced force on him. The guest was forced into having his ring finger cut off using a kitchen knife because he attempted to escape.
Margot then called in to speak to the Chef, who gave her the choice of being either on the side of the cooks, the providers, or the guests, the ones being provided.
The injunction is faced with the harsh reality that everyone presents there will die.
The guests start trying to bargain for a way out. They are presented with a display of the “fallen angel”, showing a man being dumped into the ocean with wings tied around him.
The Chef, later on, finds out her true identity of Margot. Margot is a girl hired by Tyler to fill the vacancy of his ex-girlfriend. The Chef identifies Margot as a fellow service provider.
The guests are later taken outside the dining area for a chase. If the servers catch the male guests, they will have to head back in; if not, they’re free to go.
The course being served was made by a cook who was supposedly sexually abused by the Chef. Due to this, she made a presentation about stabbing the Chef in the leg.
The dining continues with no one being successful with their escape.
The Chef then reveals that Tyler had known that everyone coming to the island as a guest would die. It was revealed that Tyler knew Margot would die if he took her, but he did that anyway. Margot slaps Tyler out of anger.
The Chef then confronts Tyler because of his disrespect for the art of cooking. He orders Tyler to cook, which Tyler fails miserably.
Margot is then asked to do a task for the Chef to replace one of the dedicated servers. Margot embarks on her mission and is met with the angry waiter who attempts to take her life. Margot fought back and killed the waiter as a result.
Margot then revolts, enters the silver door, and finds old pictures of the Chef. She also finds a radio through which she calls for help.
After returning to the dining room, she finds out that Tyler has taken his life by hanging.
A rescue officer arrives at the island upon Margot’s call. But it turns out to be one of the Chef’s men making the entire escape unsuccessful.
After the failure of Margot’s plan, she makes up another one. She had seen a picture of the Chef making a cheeseburger in his private room. So she uses that info to ask the Chef to make a cheeseburger for her because she had been unsatisfied with everything served the entire evening.
The Chef does not dismiss Margot’s request as she is entitled to his service.
The Chef personally makes a Cheeseburger for Margot and serves it.
Margot takes one bite from the burger and appreciates its flavor. She then tells the Chef that she would like to take the food for takeout.
The Chef cannot deny her request because he is the service provider. He then prepared the cheeseburger for takeout and handed it to Margot with a gift bag.
Margot then swiftly leaves the dining room and searches for a boat to escape.
The other guests in the dining room are met with their last dish, the burnt S’mores. The Chef stages the guests with marshmallows and chocolate and burns down the entire facility and himself.
Margot can finally find a boat to flee on. She’s successful in her escape and sees the burning figure of the facility in the background.
Some Special Attributes:
The Mysterious “Chef”
The significance of the Chef is established very early on in the movie. A lot of attention is drawn to this mysterious character.
The dishes presented in the courses are primarily symbolic of the Chef’s personal life.
The perspective of the Chef, being the service provider to the wealthy elites who were the provided sound around the entire storyline.
Historical Allegory
Many historically significant stories are drawn into the dishes.
There wasn’t any bread in one dish; only the items primarily monopolized by the rich were served.
This signifies how the poor, the primary service providers, were erased from their right to the producers they grew and how they were only entitled to bread.
The Boundaries of Personal Space
When dining inside the facility, a strange reality was shown to the guests. The personal lives and conversations of the guests were all known by the cooks and the service providers.
This plays a significant role in the distinction of classes in the world where the poor and the service providers are kept out of the lives of the rich because they were deemed unfit. But in reality, the information being withheld by the poor and the service producers could end the lives of the rich.
The Life and Death Situation
One thing significant about this movie is its gore scenes of execution and suicide.
It was established very early on that every person inside the living facility would ultimately meet with death.
Every scene of suicide and execution is not censored, instead is shown with every depth of emotion and clarity.
This signified the ties between life and death. While the guests were feasting on the dead remains of the lives of plants and animals, they, too, will die in the end in one way or another.
Blurred Line Between Reality
From the movie’s beginning, the guests need help deciphering whether everything they are witnessing is true.
One of the guests, a restaurant critic, tried to handle the deaths in front of them by labeling them as some theatrical performance.
But with each death and vile execution passing by, it installed a deep sense of discomfort and fear inside the guests. This made them fear for their lives.
This showed how the rich would never come in touch with reality unless they’re met with danger of their own.
Do Not Eat, Taste
One of the opening remarks of the Chef upon his arrival in the movie was, “Do Not Eat, Taste”.
The Chef made this remark so the guests could understand the art behind food rather than its purpose of just being eaten.
Throughout the movie, it was portrayed how the skill and art behind food creation were significant, not child’s play. For the service providers, their creation is a matter of their entire livelihood.
But when the rich disregard this creation, it takes away the significance of the art.
This single instruction was more of a command from the Chef, who commanded respect deserved by the cooks who prepared the food for hours only to be eaten in mere minutes.
Why Was The Final Escape Possible?
For some viewers, it might be a matter of confusion as to why their final escape of Margot succeeded when the Chef was hell-bent on killing everyone alongside himself.
Now the truth lies behind the true intentions of the Chef. As a service provider, his duty was to satisfy the people who were being provided for entirely. So when there was a bad review from Margot, he had to do everything to please her by performing his duties.
The Chef cooked what was asked of Margot and served it. And as Margot asked for a takeaway, the Chef had to do what was asked of him to fulfill his duty.
Thus, Margot’s request was deemed undeniable, so she could leave and escape.
So there you have it!
This was all you needed to know before diving into this cinematic adventure!
The Menu (2022) is undeniably a very well-constructed movie. The central theme and intentions of the characters are vividly shown across the screen. The strange portrayal of the two working classes, the rich and the poor, has been thought-provoking.
The Menu (2022) is a must-watch for those who seek thrillers, putting you at the edge of your seats. The unexpected twist and reveals will indeed leave you craving for more. The thought-provoking nature and the soft debut of delicate culinary creations are a cherry on top of the strong storyline.
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