ACE Presents: The Menu

Director: Mark Mylod

2022 / 107min / DCP

“Balancing dark comedy and horror was the challenge of editing The Menu. A razor-sharp script, perfect cast, and focused direction set the stage for shaping something unique. A disillusioned chef reaches the pinnacle of his success, which reduces the patrons of his culinary art to the 1% who can afford it. His cult status draws a group of sycophants to this rare event, which devolves into a nightmare as they willingly become a part of his final creation.” —Christopher Tellefsen, ACE

An astringent sendup of snobbish foodie culture and the broader culture it reflects, Mylod’s tart black comedy begins with an Agatha Christie-worthy setup: posh gourmand Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) invites a dutifully impressed peasant (Anya Taylor-Joy) to join him in dining with a small coterie of in-the-know scions of repulsive wealth at an exclusive restaurant on a private island, its kitchen overseen by hot-shit restaurateur Julian Skowik (Ralph Fiennes); what is meant to be a bespoke, once-in-a-lifetime culinary adventure, however, soon becomes a multi-course Omakase ordeal of psychological torment. Fiennes’s performance is a miracle of pitiless solemnity—but it’s impossible to imagine the film being as ferociously funny as it is without editor Christopher Tellefsen’s brilliantly blunt comic timing.

Distributor: Walt Disney Studios/20th Century

Q&A with editor Christopher Tellefsen, ACE, moderated by film historian and educator Molly O'Steen on Sunday, December 14th