WARNING SPOILERS!!!
I think I speak for all my fellow in-the-biz folks when I say The Menu was the most satisfying movie, arguably, of all time. Even though a fantastical plot and gory horror are utilized to gain the audience’s attention, the real draw is the ever-trendier “eat the rich” metaphor at the core of the film.
“The Menu” is a 2022 American black comedy horror film directed by Mark Mylod and written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy. The film features the queen, Anya Taylor Joy, as Margot and Ralph Fiennes (played with impeccable nuance as always) as celebrity chef Julian Slowik. The film follows Margot and a group of wealthy guests as they patronize Chef Slowik’s exclusive restaurant, The Hawthorn. As the dinner progresses, each course becomes increasingly horrifying.
I can’t decide what aspect of this film I like more, pretentious elites suffering, or the fact that the only survivor was the sex worker! If these are the societal conventions we are breaking in 2023, then I can’t wait to see what else this year has in store.
I’ve worked in the service industry for a decade. I’ve dabbled in almost every position in a restaurant, from the standard front-of-the-house jobs like hostess and server to filling in back-of-the-house jobs like expo and dish pit when we were short-staffed. Nothing bonds a group of people like being in the weeds, somehow collaborating to take every guest’s order and deliver it promptly without mistakes, all, while you have been double, sat, your party of 10 is asking for refills and additional condiments every time you pass the table, the kitchen is down two line cooks, and we are running out of clean wine glasses. Agh, I just shuddered. But, of course, it is a thankless job. Some guests (not all, I’ve served plenty of amazing diners) are under the assumption that this is an “easy” job because it doesn’t require a degree, and we are stupid if they get a side of broccoli when they ordered asparagus. And when they judge us for not opening their cabernet with enough “finesse” and ask to speak to a manager because you didn’t call them “sir” or “Ma’am” enough and make them feel like royalty being served by peasants in the feudalistic system of a restaurant hierarchy. God forbid we run out of Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc and they have to settle for Oyster Bay. Oh, the injustice!
While rude and insensitive guests come from all socioeconomic backgrounds, I think there is a special burn when it comes to the rich because you know their mistreatment stems from a belief of superiority. The Menu doesn’t explicitly depict the plight of the service industry and the mistreatment of wait staff. Instead, it satirizes the dichotomy of the population into two opposed classes using a restaurant’s “server-guest” dynamic.
“The Menu” is an allegory about class conflict. Chef is the jaded servant, stripped of passion due to the upper class’s gluttonous exploitation. The guests are the out-of-touch elites who continuously raise the bar for excess and superfluous consumption. Margot is the in-between, the bourgeoisie, the so-called middle class. Not stifled by the tribulations of poverty, but by no means afforded the luxury of wealth. Some of us are the “Chefs” of society, some of us are the “guests”, and most of us are the “Margots”.
Margot is an escort from a small town in Massachusetts. Though she can assimilate into the fine dining experience, she does not belong. It is not intended for her. Subtle hints during the early courses of the meal demonstrate the fundamental difference between Margot and the other guests. While they express admiration for the ridiculously frilly meals, Margot exhibits disdain. She considers the frivolity of the food an insult. She even refers to the nicest restaurant in her hometown as a “sh*tty red sauce place called Martini’s”. Margot’s pragmatic approach to dining stems from her humble background. According to Tyler’s analysis, Margot “hates these fancy places because she’s working-class and real and just a true-blue down-home girl.” The others’ detachment from reality has left them paying $1,250 to eat plant-covered rocks (yes, that was one of the dishes served at The Hawthorn).
The most significant scene in the film, in my opinion, is when Chef pulls Margot to the kitchen and tells her, “I need to know where to seat you, with us (as in the staff) or with them (as in the guests).” Furthermore, he asks her the question, “do you want to die with those who give or those who take?” While Chef is asking this question, Margot, it feels like screenwriters Seth Reiss and Will Tracy are posing this ethical question to viewers. Are you one of us, or are you one of them?
Even though Chef gave Margot the option to choose, he ends up deciding for her, proclaiming, “You belong here with your breed.” She belongs to the “us”-class. Or, more fittingly coined by Chef, the “sh*t shovelers”.
However, she never really had a choice. While the film depicts three classes of people, it condenses them into two positions – “us” or “them”. Margot can only choose “us” or “them”.
The film’s stance seemingly is that there are only two classes in society, the “givers” or the “takers”, however, I believe the film ends with an optimistic take. Though Margot was sentenced to death regardless of her choice, she ends up the only survivor, guests and staff alike. The decision to allow Margot to depart from the island may be a lesson for the filmmakers. Margot never subscribed to either class. Her unabashed authenticity, when faced with the pressures of conforming to pretentious elitism or surrendering to the defeatist perspective of the lower class, may have saved her life.