The Menu

The film's premise is not complex—a group of hand-picked elite guests arrives on a private island for a dining experience at celebrity chef Julian Slowik's ...

The outcome would still be the same, he points out, and Margot would still die at the end, but the only difference would be that she would be on the team of chefs and servers when it happened. Besides, Margot is not really part of the group that Slowik wants to make his plan against, and he also does not seem to mind that she gets away. And so, to somehow reach this eternal position, he makes himself part of Slowik’s dinner plan and shoots himself dead in front of the guests as part of the show. It is very possible to believe that Slowik knew she would escape from the very beginning, but he also enjoyed the fact that there was this individual ready to call him out and outright challenge his reputation. The important fact is that she has successfully escaped the death trap island, and that too by dismissing Julian Slowik’s expertise. Instead of any usual rendition of it, the chef and his team prepare the exact dish on a large scale, making the guests wear marshmallows on their bodies and chocolate hats on their heads. Now, she reveals she was the one to have proposed the idea of keeping death as a part of the menu, and as part of the show, she stabs Slowik in his leg as well. There is also a very evident feeling of Slowik’s ego being a crucial aspect behind his actions, for the man is also part of the culinary elitism that he so much hates. To Slowik, this is a clear indication that the people he tries to please do not even take notice of the art that he is creating. Such negligence toward art was something that he did not wish to tolerate, and George Diaz was a fine example of it. Margot is indirectly reminded time and again that she is not supposed to have this experience. “The Menu” is certainly an unusual film in some aspects; it is fulfilling to watch and leaves you pondering for long.

The tasty plot has a pretty fascinating origin story. by Maxine Harrison. Jan. 4, 2023. Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor ...

The Menu stars some familiar faces including [Anya Taylor-Joy](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/who-is-anya-taylor-joy-dating-relationship), [Ralph Fiennes](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ralph-fiennes-defends-jk-rowling-harry-potter-transphobic-debate), and [Nicholas Hoult](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/nicholas-hoult-girlfriend-bryana-holly-children). I said to the director I wanted to make the food as if they were eating at a restaurant.” [began imagining all the things that could go wrong](https://geekvibesnation.com/the-menu-writers-will-tracy-and-seth-reiss-interview/). The Menu co-writer Will Tracy took inspiration from his honeymoon to Norway a few years ago, during which he took a boat to a restaurant on a private island. Streaming on Disney+, the dark comedy thriller follows a group of chefs who are invited to an island for an exclusive restaurant experience. [Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, ](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/knives-out-2-glass-onion-celebrity-cameos)you may also take a liking to The Menu.

But things aren't what they seem: celebrity chef Julian Slowik (played by Ralph Fiennes) instead plans to kill all of his unfortunate guests by the end of the ...

The Menu stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult as guests at an upscale restaurant run by the enigmatic celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). But the ...

We know it makes us really crave for a cheeseburger, but what does it actually mean in the context of the movie? She discovers a photo in Slowik's house of himself as a young fast-food chef, along with a radio which she uses to call the coast guard. Charmed by her antics, Slowik gives her a take-out box and Margot leaves, with one final nod of encouragement from Anne. Slowik corners Margot in the women's bathroom and discovers her secret: she's a sex worker named Erin who Tyler hired as his date. While they're being caught, the women commiserate in the restaurant and we learn that Erin/Margot had meetings with Richard where he lived out a fantasy of his daughter not having died. But the exclusive dinner they've signed up for isn't what it appears, and soon all the guests find themselves fighting for their lives.

The Menu” is a dark comedy horror film that keeps one in suspense for the whole runtime and trumps expectations with its sublime plot.

Margot is indirectly reminded time and again that she is not supposed to have this experience. It is also soon revealed that Margot was not originally on the invited list and had only taken the place of another woman who was supposed to accompany Tyler. From this very instance, Margot starts to realize that her partner Tyler is almost blindly devotional towards the celebrity chef running the restaurant, Chef Julian Slowik.

See Ralph Fiennes' killer chef explain why he's targeting two of his customers in this exclusive clip from the black comedy, now streaming on HBO Max.

Two of the diners at Hawthorn are George Diaz (John Leguizamo), a washed-up actor, and Felicity (Aimee Carrero), his assistant/girlfriend. [Nicholas Hoult](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/the-great-hulu-review-elle-fanning-995968/) as his [food](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/food/)-influencer sub. [Anya Taylor-Joy](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/anya-taylor-joy-downtown-cover-1244814/)’s wide-eyed final girl. And they’ve all been chosen for a specific reason (sort of). [Ralph Fiennes](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/ralph-fiennes/) as a kinky, authoritarian chef. Tyler idolizes Slowik, who introduces each course of his meticulously-constructed (or deconstructed) meal with a thunderous clap, followed by a florid monologue explaining its import.

Mark Mylod's film, "The Menu" apparently follows a couple, Tyler and Margot, to the restaurant (named Hawthorne) owned by celebrity chef Julian Slowik, ...

And here’s the kicker, as Julian thinks he and Erin are one and the same, I am guessing that he sees her liberation as the one good deed of his miserable life. The backstory allows Erin to disarm Julian, and the call to the fake coast guard proves that Erin wants to live and hasn’t fully submitted to his shtick. The editing, some of the cinematography, the production design, and the culinary moments are worthy of applause. And as Erin makes her way to the speedboat that the coast guard brought in, Julian turns the restaurant, the cooks, the customers, and himself into a s’mores-based dish, and everything goes up in flames. The problem with the film lies in the fact that Julian sees a bit of himself in Margot and sees himself as somebody who has been oppressed by the wheel of classism and capitalism. Secondly, as he starts to understand that there’s no way for him to make her eat his food because of her dogged determination to not conform to his rules, he paves the way for her liberation. When that line is drawn, we understand that in that room, Julian thinks he’s the oppressor, and his customers are the ones who need to be oppressed. It seems like he fully expects her to deviate from her task, go to his house, learn about his backstory, and call for help (the coast guard who arrives turns out to be a member of the staff too). Firstly, he wants to deconstruct her because, unlike the rest of his customers, he doesn’t know her backstory, and that’s ruining his final meal. Margot is the odd one out, and that’s why she’s given a choice to die with the customers or with the cooks. On the one day that Julian wasn’t working, he went to watch George’s movie, and he didn’t like it. Somewhere along the halfway point of “The Menu,” Julian makes it obvious that this is going to be his and his customers’ final meal.

The film boasts a star-studded cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Ana Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult.

What else has Reed Birney been in? What else has Paul Adelstein been in? What else has Hong Chau been in? What else has Ana Taylor-Joy been in? Who is the movie star? Cyr (Palmer) also star as a trio of obnoxious young tech employees and the remaining diners Soren, Bruce and Dave. The actor is known for his appearance in Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet, Encanto, and many more. Who is Lillian? Light starred as Angela Bower in the comedy series Who’s the Boss and as Claire Meade in Ugly Betty. Who is Chef Slowik? Who is Margot? He has also starred in other films including The Grand Budapest Hotel, The English Patient, and Schindler's List.

Culinary thriller The Menu went down a treat with audiences and critics alike, so here's how you can watch it on Disney Plus and HBO Max.

[subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article). [Film](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/) coverage or visit our [TV Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/tv-listings/) and [Streaming Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/streaming-guide/) to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the [Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast](https://www.radiotimes.com/audio/podcasts/). [Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Menu-Nicholas-Hoult/dp/B0BQ7H3F1D/?tag=radtim0b-21&ascsubtag=radiotimes-1763331). [here are the latest deals and how to get Disney Plus free](https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/technology-deals/disney-plus-offers/). [HBO Max](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/hbo-max-uk-launch/). [terms and conditions](https://www.immediate.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/) and [privacy policy](https://policies.immediate.co.uk/privacy/). [Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year](https://disneyplus.bn5x.net/c/1236178/564546/9358?subId1=radiotimes-1760373&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fen-gb). [learn more](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/commercial-links-on-radiotimes-com/)) [RadioTimes.com](https://www.radiotimes.com) they hope [The Menu makes audiences' "stomachs hurt a little"](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/anya-taylor-joy-nicholas-hoult-big-rt-interview/). [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Menu-Ralph-Fiennes/dp/B0B6RNJX6H) and other digital retailers – although you'll have to wait a little longer for the UK release. [Subscribe to Radio Times magazine and get 12 issues for £1](https://www.radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription/?utm_term=evergreen-article)

The Menu screenwriter Will Tracy reveals the way that a real high-end restaurant experience inspired the idea for the new Ralph Feinnes thriller.

By the end of the film, Tracy and Reiss were able to incorporate many different elements of that culture into a slow-boil thriller that has already received awards attention with Margot's discomfort in such a setting allows her to be an entry point for the viewer, which means that their hackles will be raised along with hers as she notices a variety of off-putting details during the meal. Fiennes' character is chafing against the fact that his art has become more of a product for the upper class to use as a status symbol rather than an expression of his purest self, a feeling that can be transcribed across many other art forms. The restaurant is run by the reclusive chef Julian Solwik (Ralph Fiennes), who is known for his theatrical presentation, which is why the disturbing and possibly violent nature of this evening's meal isn't noticed by the restaurant's patrons until it is much too late. During the conversation, Tracy revealed that the inspiration for the film came from an actual high-end restaurant he visited on a remote Norwegian island. The film, which was released in theaters on November 18, 2022 and is now available on HBO Max, stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot, a young woman who is invited to an exclusive restaurant on a private island by Tyler (Nicholas Hoult).

A satire about what's wrong with the food world, The Menu explores the restaurant industry, foodie culture, food media, and their relationships to one another.

As Screen Rant theorizes, "Putting two patties on the grill, one is reminded of the two people that killed themselves in the kitchen early on—Tyler and Slowik's sous-chef." Perhaps the meat in Margot's burger was aged too long and killed her. Perhaps it made out of the sous-chef and Tyler, the restaurant-obsessed foodie who had paid her to be his date, knowing beforehand that everyone would die as part of the menu. Slowik and his team repeatedly say that this is all part of the menu. Mid-film, we find out that everyone—diners, staff, and even Chef Slowik—are going to die as part of the meal. A satire about what's wrong with the food world, The Menu explores the restaurant industry, foodie culture, food media, and their relationships to one another.

A storytelling-through-food event prompted the screenwriters of The Menu to come up with the movie's idea.

It is common for many people to have misconceptions about the food industry and what it means to be a top chef. Therefore, it is fascinating to see how the story behind The Menu explores these concepts while breaking down myths and the pressure of being a cook. In his words, the storytelling-through-food event made him feel claustrophobic in a way similar to the movie, where guests were "held hostages" for several hours during each course of meals. "The restaurant was not Fäviken, but like Fäviken.There’s something relentless about all of these tasting menus. [Bon Appétit](https://www.bonappetit.com/story/the-menu-movie-creators-interview), screenwriters Will Tracy and Seth Reiss explained how a true story inspired the plot of The Menu. Director Mark Mylod previously worked on shows like Game of Thrones and Succession before helming The Menu.