‘The Menu’ A Thrilling Dish Full of Surprises

In the Searchlight Pictures presentation of ‘The Menu,’ a couple travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

‘The Menu’ is one of the biggest surprises of the year and is one that truly shouldn’t be missed. The film delivers quite a few genres and does an astounding job blending them together.

There are quite a few segments in the film that are tension-building and the film really gets your attention as soon as the first act begins. It grabs your attention so much that you don’t want to look away from the screen because you’ll be afraid to miss something. The film also dives into a little bit of the chef’s (Fiennes’ character) past, which is a pivotal part of the film.

In between all of the tense moments scattered about, ‘The Menu’ also throws in a lot of surprises. Just when you think you have a tiny inkling that you know what’s going on, the film throws in a curveball. The film is also really well-acted and there is also a bit of dry humor sprinkled about.

And, speaking of the acting, acting great Ralph Fiennes portrays Julian Slowik, a celebrity chef/owner of the restaurant who has a ritualistic mentality and has lost his passion for his craft. His performance is simply incredible and a little eerie during a few moments. Fiennes better receive award recognition for this film! Anya Taylor-Joy also does an outstanding job as one of the restaurant guests who first begin to realize something is off.

So, make sure to come on down to the Dietrich and take a look at this compelling ‘Menu.’ With many twists and turns and surprises scattered throughout, it’s one of those films that’s not to be missed! There are quite a few moments that I thought were really thought-provoking and didn’t really want to discuss much here since it could potentially ruin the surprises that the film has in store. But, go see it for yourself!!

The cast: Ralph Fiennes as Julian Slowik; Anya Taylor-Joy as Margio; Nicholas Hoult as Tyler; Hong Chau as Elsa; Janet McTeer as Lillian; Paul Adelstein as Richard; Judith Light as Anne and John Leguizamo as George Diaz.

‘The Menu’ is written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy and directed by Mark Mylod, who has directed numerous episodes of ‘Entourage,’ ‘Shameless’ and ‘Game of Thrones.’

‘The Menu’ is rated R for strong/disturbing violent content, language throughout and some sexual references and has a running time of 107 minutes.

Make sure to keep checking my Wyoming County Press Examiner review page on Facebook to see what I will be checking out for the remainder of the year! Plus, keep checking for my annual top films of the year list coming up!

https://youtu.be/C_uTkUGcHv4