This arvo twitter is broken but my affection for movies such as Avatar and the Menu isn’t . . .
In the Menu, Director Mark Mylod rocks…
Upper-class guests at an eclectic restaurant on a conspicuously isolated island are served in more ways than one in The Menu, a delicious if faintly aloof new black comedy now playing in Prague and cinemas worldwide. Bolstered by a scenery-devouring performance by Ralph Fiennes, this arresting entrée may be obvious in its satire, but goes down refreshingly easy.
Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy star as Tyler and Margot, a young couple who open the movie aboard a boat sailing to the Hawthorn, a once-in-a-lifetime (for most patrons) dining experience that holds some unexpected surprises
Prague Review: ‘The Menu’ movie review: Ralph Fiennes dishes up a sumptuous culinary thriller
The Menu is a slow-cooked meal with a murderous kick: a delectable full course with a bloody and comedic twist, several surprises along the way, a delightful cast led by Ralph Fiennes at his best, some gorgeous presentation, and a sweet and explosive dessert that sticks with you long after your bill arrives. It also happens to be a bloody good time.
The Hawthorn is run by the mysterious Chef Slowik (Fiennes), who we can assume is Slovak based on a reference to a childhood in Bratislava.
Based on information provided by the film, his family likely fled Czechoslovakia for Iowa following the Warsaw Pact Invasion in the late 1960s, when Slowik was a young boy. That’s neither here nor there for most audiences, but provides some interesting backstory for locals.
Julian f***** Slowik from Bratislava Slovak Republic
TYLER
Babe, we please don’t smoke. It’ll
kill your palette.
MARGOT
Then my palette will die happy.
The restaurant’s captain, a severe woman named ELSA, checks the guests’ names from a list. When Margot and Tyler reach Elsa in line, she smiles coldly.
ELSA
Welcome to Hawthorn, Mister
Ledford. And Miss-- Westervelt?
Elsa looks puzzled. Margot, equally puzzled, looks at Tyler.
TYLER
Oh, uh-- Right. Sorry. There was
actually a change of plans. This is not Miss Westervelt, this is--
MARGOT
I’m Margot. Nice to meet you.
(Mylod is married to costume designer Amy Westcott)
CHEF SLOWIK
Over the next few hours, you will
ingest fat, salt, sugar, protein, bacteria, fungi, various plants and animals -- at times entire eco- systems. But I have to beg of you one thing. Just one. Do not eat.
(dramatic pause)
Taste. Savor. Relish. Consider every morsel you place inside your mouth. Be mindful. But do not eat. Our menu is too precious for that.
ON THE PATRONS, who look a little confused, especially the movie star. Tyler, however, is just lapping this up.
CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D) Look around you. Breathe deeply.
Accept it. Accept all of it. Forgive. And on that note --
(smiles) Food!
CHEF SLOWIK (back to the group)
Here is what you must remember about this dish. We, the people on this island, are not important. The island and the nutrients it provides exist in their most perfect state without us gathering them, manipulating them or digesting them. What happens inside this room is meaningless compared to what occurs outside, in nature, in the soil and the water and the air. We are but a frightened nanosecond. Nature is timeless.
(warm smile) Enjoy!
SOMMELIER
And to pair, from our friends at
Isabelle et Denis, a premier cru Chablis from 2014. Not just single vineyard but a single row of vines
CHEF SLOWIK
Bread has existed in some form for
over 12,000 years, especially amongst the poor. Flour and water. What could be simpler? Even today, grain represents 65% of all agriculture. Fruits and vegetables? Only 6%. Ancient Greek peasants dipped their stale, measly bread in wine for breakfast. And how did Jesus teach us to pray if not to beg for “our daily bread?” It is, and has always been, the food of the common man. But you, my dear guests, are not the common man. So tonight you get no bread.
Margot actually chuckles -- you’ve got to be kidding.
ives.
SOMMELIER
Here’s a 2009 Valpolicella Classico
Superiore from Tommaso Bussola, which we’ve hyper-decanted with an immersion blender. Slovakian oak. Rich cherry and tobacco notes. A faint sense of longing and regret
CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D) This is my mother. As you can see,
she is rather drunk. This is not unusual. When I was seven years old, one Tuesday my father came home quite drunk. Also not unusual. Mother grew angry and screamed at him. At which point he proceeded to wrap a telephone cord around her neck and pull it tight. I wept and screamed and begged him to stop. To make him stop, I finally had to stab him in the thigh with kitchen scissors. You remember that, mother, don’t you?
Linda reacts vaguely, continues drinking.
CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D)
I suppose I should have stabbed him
in his throat that evening. But we are not so smart when we are young.
The diners exchange uneasy glances. Lillian turns to Ted with a reassuring look -- “Don’t worry, all par for the course.”
Margot, however, watches Chef intently and with empathy, as if understanding his pain. Noticing, Chef locks eyes with her and says the next line directly to her.
CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D) Well. It was, as you can imagine, a
very memorable taco night.
Servers appear and set down plates fashioned out of coiled telephone cords, as well as bowls of tortillas. On the plates are chicken thighs with TINY SCISSORS sticking out of them.
A SUPERIMPOSED TITLE reads: “MEMORY. Marinated grilled chicken thigh, tortillas, green salsa cubes, red salsa halo.”
CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D) Here you have house-smoked Bresse
chicken thighs al pastor and our own tortillas made with heirloom masa--one of Hawthorn’s signature dishes. We change our menu constantly, but, as Miss Bloom knows, this has been a staple since day one.
(turning to her)
It’s what you once said --
LILLIAN BLOOM Put you on the map.
CHEF SLOWIK
Put me on the map. And precisely
what map would that be?
Chef lets this rhetorical question hang in the air.
CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D) Anyways, because we are always
innovating-- because we fear irrelevance...
Movie star reacts.
CHEF SLOWIK (CONT'D) ...an update to a classic: images
on the tortillas have been made using a laser engraving machine. We hope this taco night evokes strong memories for us all.
(warm smile) Enjoy.
ELSA
These are tortillas which contain
Echobright’s tax records and other documents showing how your company has hidden transactions with shell companies and created invoices with fake charges.
BRYCE
How did you get these?
R.I.P. Jeremy Loucks, 1990-2022.
SOREN (in shock)
Oh Jesus. What the f***?
