The Menu (2022)
But where's the lamb sauce?
Presentation:
Stunning imagery from this meticulous satire. The idea of a culinary horror film just sounds amazeballs and it is. Ralph Fiennes plays a delightful villain, though the rest of the cast is a mixed bag. The film has an aesthetic for sure and captures the pretentious tone successfully. Colin Stetson soundtrack is also wildly chaotic.
Analysis:
Anya Taylor Joy looks flawless in this film as the one that doesn't belong. Modern conversational dialogue was a bit irksome, but i understand it to be necessarily trite to fit the character. The heart of this film is the social commentary on reviewers (me) and consumerism, which was actually well done. There are a few dark laugh out loud moments and intentionally pretentious attitudes, which do add to the story, but not the experience. The film tries to serve you a beef wellington when all you asked for is a steak, but just like the movie concludes, sometimes you just want a damn burger, which this film doesn't give. So by design, the film intentionally commits the crime it accuses society of but because it acknowledges it, it is somehow immune to hypocrisy and criticism? I get how these themes work and i don't mean to kill the messenger but this one left me dissatisfied, which i guess proves the point of the film...huh...
Conclusion:
This is a high level art film and will require a fancy metaphorical pallet to appreciate it. However, it is intentionally frustrating, laughing at the face of the audience in hypocritical irony. There are many that will love or hate this film and those people are the ones that this film is mocking while angering most those the film is complimenting.
Recommendations
The collapse of western civilization starts with a face mask.