The Menu: On the red carpet with Nicholas Hoult, Anya Taylor-Joy and Mark Mylod

If there’s one thing that seems to be in the zeitgeist right now – from Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness to White Lotus and Glass Onion – it’s satire of the rich and over-indulged. The Menu is another solid foray into the milieu, taking aim more specifically at the world of haute cuisine. In the hands of Mark Mylod, notably a writer and director who works on Succession, the film walks a careful fine line between paying tribute and sending up this often ludicrous, yet highly revered sphere.

As with the Roy family, Mylod convinces us to care about some fairly repulsive characters, who are further elevated by deft casting decisions in the form of gravitas-personified Ralph Fiennes as chef Slowik (head of an ultra-exclusive island-based restaurant experience), Nicholas Hoult as a geeky food-obsessive who visits the restaurant for the first time, and Anya Taylor-Joy as the date he brings along for the ride at the last minute. Alongside them are a motley crew of other over-endowed characters, from a has-been actor and his fed-up assistant to a snooty critic and her lackey editor and a triplet of tech bros.

Mylod’s reported approach of having all his cast on-set at all times, as a theatre production would, brings a certain atmosphere to proceedings, and a nagging sense of claustrophobia. As the level of preposterousness and pretentiousness creeps up, so does the tension, until darker and darker elements take us to a bonkers climax. Viewers will simultaneously be left squirming and craving a cheeseburger.

The Upcoming were on the red carpet at the BFI on London’s Southbank to hear from the director and cast about the making of the film and its themes. Hoult told us the appeal of playing his rather detestable character, Tyler, his experience of working with Taylor-Joy and Fiennes, and whether he can still perform Killing Me Softly from his iconic breakout in About a Boy.

Mylod explained how he worked closely with chefs such as Dominique Crenn to bring authenticity to his depiction of the gastronomy world, how he assembled and worked with his incredible cast and what we can expect from Succession season four.

Taylor-Joy spoke about her experience of working on the film, which was more akin to making theatre, and how they coped with having to perform eating the bizarre courses of food on set.

Sarah Bradbury

The Menu is released nationwide on 18^th November 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for The Menu here: