Part of what I loved about this movie is that Slowik is not some morally consistent character, a cypher through which the writer gets to dispense critique without reproach.
Instead his insanity calls any of his judgments into question, even when we’re inclined to agree with them.
Re: Tyler’s death… his ‘problem’ in the eyes of Slowik is not that he can’t cook. It’s that he devalues the ‘soul’ of food by treating it like a mere checklist of items and experiences. And, he has ruined the evening’s carefully planned Menu by bringing Margot, whom Slowik identifies as an innocent. Wrecking The Menu deserves maybe some special attention/humiliation.
Maybe if Margot wasn’t there, Slowik might not have invited Tyler up to cook.
Plus Tyler is a pretentious self centered fanboy. He’s like a Star Wars nerd that endlessly nitpicks the films. Or maybe like an audience member shouting out how a magician does all his tricks. Whether it’s pestering the kitchen crew or telling Margot how she should experience the food, for Tyler, it’s not about appreciating the art, it’s more about showing off how much he knows about the minutiae of it. Ultimately ruining the experience for both his dining companion and the waitstaff.
I think for the alternate ending to work, there would have to be something likable about Tyler, and there isn’t.
oh dang it. wrong thread. My firefox acts very weird here. I’ve always had to open the boards, go to each subforum, and open threads in tabs. And I know I posted that in the correct thread but apparently ff ate it. I’ve had to type every sentence of this post twice because what I’m typing won’t show up in the preview box.
Anyway, I loved The Menu. I don’t know if loving the movie proves I’m as unworthy as the diners because I missed the point or whatever, but I think I was like the survivor. I enjoyed it for what it was, not out of snobbery or status. It was a burger of a movie.
My wife and I just watched this last night, on the recommendation of our granddaughter who is a film student. What I enjoy about movies like this is not knowing anything about it going in, and just sort of going along for the ride. I realize it’s not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
Parts of it, like the bread course without any bread, reminded me of a food blog that someone here posted a couple years ago, where the blogger and her friends went to some exclusive, pretentious restaurant somewhere in Italy and the meal dragged on for hours and no actual food was ever served. (I tried googling it to share with my wife but didn’t have much luck. If anyone knows what I’m talking about and can provide a link, thanks in advance.)
I knew exactly what restaurant you meant, and successfully googled it. At least, I’m pretty sure this is what you’re referring to. I’m surprised that this place didn’t ban photography, because those pics really help tell the story. At least they all lived though the experience:
That is an interesting take. That’s funny, at the end when she was eating the cheesburger on the boat I thought “I don’t know if I’d trust that burger”. But it was just an idle thought- I hadn’t made the connection with the foreshadowing in the early “what would happen if you ate the beef on the 153rd day?” scene.
My problem with the whole “cheeseburger” thing is, where did the American cheese come from? Considering that they make a big deal throughout the movie that all of the ingredients for the dinner are sourced from the island itself, it seems highly unlikely that they would have processed cheese on hand.
I don’t think ALL the ingredients were sourced from the island, that was mainly just that first dish. They obviously have all sorts of proteins, but I didn’t see any cows or lambs on the island.
All the ingredients for the dinner, yes. But that’s not what the staff necessarily eats . Elmer_J.Fudd is correct. Although staff meals prepared by the chef are a thing, off duty they are just as likely to be eating the same comfort food crap as everyone else in the Western world.
Mark Mylod (the director) said in an interview that Margot lives. The meaning of her eating the cheeseburger at the end complete with the CLAP sound is basically her saying FUCK YOU, I WON.
The poisoned beef theory seems to be popular on the internet but it’s definitely not what the director intended.
. He’s a completely unhinged loon.
.