This article contains spoilers for The MenuMark Mylod’s recent black comedy horror, The Menu, is one film that leaves the viewers confused and weirded out, but also wanting more. With a star-studded cast, this particular film is not your general food-based film as it dwells deep into a lot of social issues. For fans of Ari Aster’s Midsommar and similar horror films, The Menu might be an ideal must-watch. Of course, it is not for the faint-hearted since the film includes a lot of graphic scenes.
Mylod takes the viewers into a completely different world where the food is absurdly expensive and where the “customers” have to pay for the “experience” with their lives, literally. The film has many nuances to it and many layers and thus, might make you research more on how Will Tracy and Seth Reiss, the writers of the film, came up with this brilliant story. Like most productions, Tracy and Reiss and their team has had their own experiences involving extremely expensive restaurants. However, that is not the exact inspiration of the film, as the foundation to The Menu is based on many ideas and events.
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A Real Incident
Searchlight Pictures
Every inspiration for any story starts at one certain point, and for Tracy and Reiss, it was a real-life experience involving a restaurant that has triggered their imaginations and fantasies. In an interview with Above the Line, Tracy mentions the experience that became the “genesis behind the idea” for the film. He states that during a visit to Norway, he got to experience this very “unique” restaurant where he, along with 12-15 customers were taken to an island on a boat ride which was dark. Obviously, this can be very clearly seen in the film as it begins with a small group of people being taken to an island on a boat.
Tracy further mentions that this particular experience made him nervous and claustrophobic and a “bit paranoid” about everything as he started to question “what if something goes wrong?”. All this is very much reasonable and relatable. It might be shocking for the normal person to even hear that such restaurants exist, but as the film points out, it’s clearly not for the middle class person. While the whole film is not based on this real incident that Tracy experienced, it definitely played a role in initiating the conversation towards The Menu’s storyline.
Society
“I’m fascinated by the idea of extreme privilege and how it perverts humanity” says Mylod in an interview. This statement is at the core of the film’s thematic discourse. The way in which this “high-end” and super exclusive restaurant sells one creepy experience along with some form of strange dishes which are super tiny sends out a powerful message on how wealthy some people can be to afford such an absurd event. However, that is not the only thing that The Menu focuses on. When analyzed closely, each individual customer has their own form of narcissism and evilness. Tyler’s (Nicholas Hoult) ego is based on his idea of how smart and intellectual he is when compared to Margot (Anya-Taylor Joy). Richard (Reed Birney) is a womanizer who has some weird fetish for girls that look like his own daughter. Lilian (Janet McTeer) is a deadly critic that has used her power to shut down restaurants, in turn, putting the owners at risk, and she is also a person who is always “criticizing” and never appreciating.
Other customers have their own version of privilege and seem to believe they are better than the others. While one might assume that Richard’s partner, Anne (Judith Light), is innocent, when analyzed closely, she seems to be well aware of Richard’s abusing of other young girls. The fact that she turns a blind eye to it makes her a perpetrator. Thus, these people can be seen as a slice of society that is at the high-end of the hierarchical system. Mylod’s fascination with exploring such absurd versions of privilege is clearly reflected through the movie. Perhaps, the celebrities who enjoy extravagant lifestyles which might come off as preposterous to the normal man might be his inspiration behind such characters.
In a way, each character resembles some form of popular human in society. From the washed-up movie star with too much to spend and with authority over his assistance, to the three men who always use the phrase “do you know who we are”, each individual might remind you of some star or famous person. Of course, Margot is the only exception. She is, perhaps, the foil of these rich snobs and thus, she is able to survive “the menu”.
Capitalism and Consumerism
It is obvious that capitalism is capable of making the rich richer and the poor poorer. While it has its ups and downs, it is hard to ignore how capitalism can lead us to over-indulgence, provided we have the money. Interestingly, The Menu seems to use these ideas as an inspiration to unpack how a capitalistic society can allow certain consumers to waste so much as $1,250 on a very toxic experience. Even if these characters weren’t aware of their ultimate ending at the beginning, by the end their expressions change from fear to gladness as they seem to accept their fate quite happily. This might be a representation of how much individuals can be brainwashed. In a way, many products are being sold to us using mere marketing campaigns that focus on “quality”. Celebrity brands are a good example of this.
When a star is the brand ambassador or even the owner of a certain company, we are more likely to buy its products. This is the case even if the product is not as worth as the money you spend on it. The exact scenario is seen in The Menu as Chef Slowik’s (Ralph Fiennes) restaurant is so popular simply because he is a celebrity chef. If he was his earlier self, which is a humble hamburger-creator, it is highly unlikely that he would be able to sell such an experience. In a way, Mylod and the writers have taken much inspiration from what is around them and the society they live in. They have revealed a deeper analysis of today’s world.
