Service With a Vengeance: My Review of "The Menu" (2022)

Why I Watched This Movie

Honestly, I was just looking for something different to watch on a quiet evening. I had seen people arguing about this movie online and that alone made me curious. Some people said it was brilliant, others said it was just "weird for the sake of being weird." I had to see it for myself and form my own opinion.

So I made some popcorn, sat down, and pressed play.

What Is This Movie About?

Imagine paying thousands of dollars for a fancy dinner on a private island. That is exactly what a group of very wealthy people do in this movie. They travel to a remote island to eat at a restaurant called Hawthorne, run by a very famous and very intense chef named Julian Slowik, played by Ralph Fiennes.

Everything starts normally enough. The food looks beautiful, the service is perfect, and the guests are impressed.

But then things start getting very strange.

Course by course, the night slowly turns into something none of the guests expected. Without giving too much away, let me just say that the Chef has been planning this evening for a very long time, and not just for the food.

"Do not eat. Taste. Savor. Consider every morsel that you place inside your mouth." — Chef Slowik

My Honest Thoughts

The Atmosphere
This movie felt cold to me. And I mean that in a good way. The island is isolated and the restaurant is so quiet and sleek that it feels a bit like a trap. The director does a great job of making you feel like something is wrong even when the characters are just sitting there eating.

The Performances
Ralph Fiennes is the star here. He is calm and polite, but he is terrifying. When he claps his hands to get attention, you really feel it. Anya Taylor-Joy is also great. She plays Margot, the only person who doesn't seem to belong there. She is smart and doesn't panic, which makes her the best character to follow.

The Themes
To me, this movie is about how we treat people who create things. The guests are all rich people who just "consume" and don't care about the hard work behind the scenes. The Chef is someone who is tired of giving his soul to people who don't appreciate it. It actually makes you think about how we treat service workers and artists in real life.

What I Liked and Disliked

IWhat I Liked:

• The 8pacing is great; I never felt bored.
• It is actually very funny in a dark way.
• The "cheeseburger scene" near the end is perfect.
• The ending was satisfying and not what I expected.

What I Didn't Like:

• Some of the dinner guests felt like "cardboard" characters—we didn't get to know them very well.
• If you don't like movies that take their time to get started, the first 20 minutes might feel a bit slow.

Final Verdict

"The Menu" is a movie that stays in your head. It’s sharp, it’s a bit mean, and it looks beautiful. If you want a thriller that isn't just about jump-scares, you should definitely watch this.

My Rating: 8/10

Have you seen The Menu? Would you have stayed for the final course or tried to run? Let me know in the comments!

Movie Information

Image Sources: IMDB