One of the screenwriters for the movie The Menu has talked about a real-life incident that gave him inspiration for the story. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Margot, a young woman invited by Tyler to a posh restaurant on a private island in the movie, which debuted in theatres on November 18, 2022, and is now accessible on HBO Max (Nicholas Hoult). The restaurant to headed by the reclusive chef Julian Solwik (Ralph Fiennes), renowned for his theatrical presentation. As a result, the diners don’t realize how uncomfortable and potentially dangerous this evening’s meal is until it’s far too late.
The Menu’s screenwriters, Will Tracy (of the HBO show Succession) and Seth Reiss, a former coworker at The Onion, were recently interviewed by Bon Appétit. During the meeting, Tracy disclosed that the upscale restaurant he had visited on a secluded Norwegian island inspired the movie. He said that eating while being told a story was claustrophobic and that customers are “kept prisoner” for hours. Below is his complete quote:
The Fun Largely Depends On The Relationship Between The Menu And Food Culture
The conflict between art and commerce is central to The Menu’s narrative. The frustration expressed by Fiennes’ character that his art has ceased to be an expression of his true self and more of a status symbol for the wealthy can see in many other artistic mediums. However, the movie’s sense of comedy and the way it instills dread in the audience depends on the fact that it to explicitly situated in the world of food culture.
Even if one has only had a limited amount of experience with fine restaurants, most people are familiar enough to understand how the portions are as little as the long list of pricey ingredients. The Menu trailer’s now-iconic statement, “we gel,” voiced by Hong Chau, brilliantly captures this occasionally purposefully jarring approach. Because of Margot’s uneasiness in the situation, the spectator can identify with her when she picks up on various unsettling aspects during lunch. As a result, their hackles will to raised.
The Menu makes excellent use of the peculiar feeling that a restaurant of this kind would invariably arouse in a person unfamiliar with them. It also makes fun of the characters that are completely at home at Chef Julian’s restaurant, showing how they occasionally go out of their way to artistically justify things they don’t fully comprehend. By the time the movie was over, Tracy and Reiss had successfully incorporated a wide range of aspects of that society into a slow-burning thriller that has already garnered attention from critics thanks to two Golden Globe nominations.
