"We’ve all become story savvy," Anya Taylor-Joy tells Total Film in the new issue of the magazine, featuring Enola Holmes 2 on the cover. "Because we’re consuming so much, we tend to have an idea of how a story’s going to go, or how it’s going to culminate. With The Menu, I genuinely did not expect the final scene."
It's no surprise that The Menu finds a way to creep up on you – the upcoming film comes from director Mark Mylod, best known for his recent work on Succession and Game of Thrones. The Menu is the tale of Margot and Tyler (Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult), a young, wealthy couple traveling to a remote island to dine at the super-exclusive restaurant of Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes).
There are 12 diners in all, among them a snooty food critic (Janet McTeer), a middle-aged movie star (John Leguizamo), and a trio of young, arrogant tech bros (Rob Yang, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr). And boy, are they in for an unforgettable evening, as Chef’s themed menu ("He’s not just a chef, he’s a storyteller," purrs Tyler; "He’s a prick," replies Margot) reveals itself to possess an overarching theme that offers a gut-punch to the privileged diners. Twists and turns and a litany of shameful backstories come into play as we move from amuse-bouche to dessert via a number of molecular gastronomical delights, with each course granted a title (‘The Mess’, ‘Man’s Folly’) by Chef as he introduces it.
"What I loved about it is that symbiotic relationship between the satire and the sheer entertainment," says Mylod, who came on board after Alexander Payne (Sideways, Nebraska) departed. Emma Stone (La La Land, The Favourite), originally down to play Margot, also asked for the cheque, but such roundelays are common in Hollywood as projects stutter through development and schedules clash. In no time at all, Adam McKay (The Big Short, Don’t Look Up) came on as a producer – he’s an executive producer on Succession, and directed the pilot episode – and Mylod was tapped up for the directing gig.
"It’s a really great ride but it also has some teeth to it," continues Mylod of The Menu’s appeal. "Whether it be sci-fi or horror-comedy or thriller – whatever strange, hopefully unique blend that we have here – it’s just a really fun way of raising issues without being too pretentious about it. With Succession, we deal with some of the same themes but we take the medicine with the humor. The Menu does that in a very different way – it’s packaged as a genre movie."
You can read more from the team behind The Menu – which hits UK cinemas on November 18 – in the new issue of Total Film when it hits stands (and digital devices) this Thursday, October 13. The issue also features our in-depth interviews with the Enola Holmes 2 cast, along with a career retrospective with Daniel Radcliffe and features on The Banshees of Inisherin and Bill Nighy's Living.
And if you’re a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue? You’ll have it delivered to your door before it’s in shops, you’ll save money on the cover price, and you’ll get exclusive subscriber-only covers. Plus, with the current offer you can get a free pair of EarFun headphones worth £55. Head to MagazinesDirect to find out more (Ts and Cs apply).
