The Mosley Review: The Menu

You know those famous cooking shows about a chef that runs their kitchen with a certain iron fist or the type of pretentious cooking shows that make the kind of dishes that nobody really wants to eat because it is an "art piece"? Have you ever wanted to see a chef go off the rails and do something to those people that would either embarass the critics or expose the darker side of their "high society" lifestyle? Well look no further because this was exactly that type of story and it was actually alot fun to see the truth being exposed for each character. From the moment the characters get on the island, the story begins to take off as many of them break the rules and how all of their secrets get discovered in crafty and sometimes brutal ways. Now it wasn't always as clever as the film was trying to be. You could easily tell where it was going for some characters, but it doesn't mean I wasn't invested.

Anya Taylor-Joy was great as Margot and I loved how she carried the most mystery. She was the most relatable character in the film and I loved every minute. Nicholas Hoult was the excellent portrayal of a fanboy for food as Tyler. He danced between childish wonder and an unlikable elitist jerk. The back and forth between Tyler and Margot was interesting and acted as the anchor of the story. John Leguizamo is always excellent and as credited as Movie Star, he was excellent at portraying an actor that was way past his prime even when John isn't. Aimee Carrero was great as his assistant Felicity. I liked the chemistry between them and I'm glad their story didn't go down an all too familiar path. Janet McTeer was perfectly pretentious and sometimes annoying as Lillian Bloom. Her constant critiques and denials were fun to watch when things really started to take off. Paul Adelstein was perfect as essentially her lap dog editor Ted. He was the "yes man" that we all know and I knew exactly the direction he was going. Hong Chau was fairly creepy as Elsa the hostess that brings the cast together for the feast. She was the perfect introduction of the eerie tension that covered the eventful feast. Ralph Fiennes was amazing and intense as the celebrity chef Julian Slowik. The moment he's on screen he commands the frame and his subtle intensity with just a glance was unnerving. I loved his stories of how each dish has relevance to everyone or the lives of his staff. His chemistry with Margot was the best part of the film and I loved the slow peel of the onion of truth between them.

The score by Colin Stetson was fun, eerie and I liked how it enhanced the tension. There really isn't that many problems I had with the film aside from some obvious twists. The dark humor that is sprinkled throughout is well balanced and there is a sort of charm to the this straight forward storytelling. Overall, this was a fun watch featuring great performances in a very straight forward morality tale in the culinary arts. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!