The Menu

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“A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.”

How did I miss writing this review? I’ve watched this movie so many times. Aside from the premise itself, it has a cast of actors I adore. (Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy and John Leguizamo for instance) My main takeaway from this was something I’ve always believed: Be kind to those who serve you. They have more power than you think.

The exclusive Hawthorne restaurant is on a secluded island with one boat on or off. To us horror aficionados, we know this is a prime setup for a trap. But, to the people who consider themselves the elite of society, they see it as trendy and exclusive or some symbol of status.

One person doesn’t seem to belong, Margot, the date of a food fanatic. She seems to sense something peculiar from the start and you can see her take in every personality in the room. The meal begins and each course seems to have a point to some grand conclusion – to say it lightly.

The militant style of the restaurant’s staff gives it a chill. They have become tools for the elite, having been stripped of simple humanity in the eyes of their guests. Slowly, a reveal happens. They have information. Each guest that night was chosen.

Except Margot.

SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT

A true commentary on class society. By the time you get to the first death, which in a twist is NOT one of the guests, you know that this is just the tip of an iceberg. People are shown their true colors one by one and each step completes the menu, which is revealed to have a culmination in the death of all guests and staff.

But Margot is the key. She gives the head chef one final moment of happiness. She asks him to make a cheeseburger. A true request for food that would make her happy. And in that moment of making a simplistic meal, he let her get that meal to go.