The Menu (2022) is a claustrophobic thriller written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, directed by Mark Mylod, with Peter Deming as the lead cinematographer. The Menu follows a foodie and his date on a private dining experience to The Hawthorn, a highly regarded, fine dining restaurant on an isolated island. As the night unfolds, darker secrets are unraveled and the guests find themselves in an off-the-menu experience.
Slowik seems to have respect and reverence for nature with the first course called The Island. Slowik contemplates the exchange between nature and mankind, the taking of nature's resources, and the fleeting nature of human life. Slowik's first course mimics the natural ecosystem of the island, using rocks, seaweed, algae, and scallops sourced from the shore. The dish is painstakingly prepared and delicately placed - the first hint of Slowik's penchant for perfectionism.
For the second course, there is a piece of witty discourse "a historical allegory". Slowik recounts the historical origin of bread and defines it as the "the food of the common man". Slowik establishes the elitism of the figures attending in the room and therefore prohibits serving bread - ironically leaving the wealthy starved. The dish is received with humour and admiration by a few and distaste and insult by the others. Besides the blatant sadism, Slowik has a dark and witty sense of humour that is ironic yet not tasteless.
The third course, called Memory, is a house-smoked Bresse chicken thigh al pastor served with scissors stabbed in the thigh for cutting the meat. Slowik reveals that the third course is inspired by a traumatic memory from his childhood involving his drunk, abusive father who he stabbed in the thigh to protect his mother. The chicken is also accompanied by tortillas that have had images 3D-printed on them. From photographs of Richard cheating on his wife, images of restaurants that the food critic Lillian had closed down, to incriminating legal documents showing that Bryce, Soren, and Dave have been embezzling money from their benefactor, Doug Verrick. The third course triggers this pervading sense of panic and anxiety. It is crude way of exhibiting Slowik's childhood trauma and sharing that pain with his guests.
For the fourth course, The Mess, Mylod turns the dial up on the pressure cooker. After an emotional back-and-forth between Slowik and his sous chef, Jeremy about the lethal pressure of his job and the toll it has had on his life, Jeremy shoots himself in the head. Slowik's kitchen team serves up the fourth course, using ingredients like beef jus, bone marrow, and roasted fillet to resemble parts of the human body and the image of Jeremy's lifeless body. The fourth course marks a sudden switch in intensity, with the very real sense of danger ever present.
The wild bergamot and red clover tea acts as a palate cleanser and a calming refreshment for the guests to sip amidst the pervasive chaos. The tea represents the last moment of calm before the storm and provides an quiet space for dialogue with Slowik.
Slowik remarks that the price point of his culinary works is now only made available to those who can afford it. Richard and Anne are esteemed long-time guests who have dined at the Hawthorn 11 times, but were unable to name even one course. Slowik is tormented by the ruin that has become his newfound clientele, malforming his passion into obsession.
There is a commentary about the falsehood of self-ascribed culinary experts, from privileged rich folks to pretentious restauranteurs to sycophantic food fanatics. Slowik lifts the superficial veil of identity and enables the guests to take a deeper look at themselves by creating a space for dialogue and forgiveness. Due to the dire circumstances at the Hawthorn, secrets are disclosed, bridges are mended, and the guests no longer cling to bitterness, regret, or guilt. A way of comforting and consoling the guests before they meet their unfortunate end.
Each customer is portrayed as belligerent, sycophantic, egotistical, or pretentious. The bystanders of this sadistic evening are deplorable and dislikeable, whilst the architects of this twisted dining experience are conveyed as proper, polite, and endearing. Mylod blurs the line of the defined heroes and villains and instead paints a complex mural of identity confusion. This flips the switch as the audience feels conflicted between who to trust, empathise for, and subsequently root for.
The customers are discordant and there is a presence of regret, guilt, and dishonesty between them. On the other hand, Slowik's kitchen team think like a hivemind, acting homogenously, and performing like individual cogs in a machine. Slowik's team works relentlessly to uphold Slowik's extreme standards - a constant uphill battle for any artist that chases perfection in their craft.
Slowik is portrayed to be a sort of agent of morality and virtue, striving to protect what is sacred to him - which is art. The maître d', Elsa, comments that Slowik prefers the guests to refrain from taking photographs of the courses as he believes "its beauty lies within its ephemeral nature". This is a somewhat profound philosophy to hold, not just about art or food, but life itself. The beauty of life would be meaningless without the sudden finality of death. Something isn't considered beautiful because it lasts, perhaps issuing the lesson to not take things for granted.
Chef Slowik has an "ongoing obsession with snow" as seen with the milk snow in the amuse bouche. Snow has connotations of purity, clear thinking, and reflection, not dissimilar to Slowik's presentation and conceptualisation of his courses. The "purifying flame" in the final dessert also complements the theme of the cleansing of sins and the freedom from regret or guilt "a sense of longing and regret" - alluded to by the sommelier for the presentation of the second wine. Slowik perceives himself as a martyr, sacrificing his life in order to atone for his wrongdoings and be cleansed - making his craft pure again.
Deming has a penchant for capturing symmetry and establishing balance, with a focus on placement. The shots feels precise and purposeful, including only what is necessary for the scene. The perfectionism of Slowik in the film supplements the precision that Deming instils with his cinematography. The immaculate presentation of each course matched with fine placement in each shot creates a symbiotic relationship between the two.
By Lucas Daniel Barker, BComm in Media Studies, and an avid film enthusiast. 29/06/2024
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