LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� A group of 11 diners gather one evening on a private island in the Pacific Northwest for a once-in-a-lifetime meal from a renowned chef in the new thriller 鈥� .鈥�
At $1,200 a head, it promises to be a singular experience, but no one, not the movie star, the tech bros, the foodie fanboy, the food critic, the wealthy regulars, nor the wild card date, is ready for just how intense, and dangerous, things will get as the meal unfolds under the direction of Ralph Fiennes brilliant and tortured Chef Slowik.
The film comes from the minds of Will Tracy and Seth Reiss, both alums of The Onion and HBO鈥檚 鈥淪uccession.鈥� The idea to satirize the cultish fine dining world came after an experience Tracy had at a fancy restaurant on a private island in Norway. They sent their script to director Mark Mylod, who directed the big excruciating dinner party episode in season two of 鈥淪uccession,鈥� and they all hit the ground running to create one of the year鈥檚 most exciting and unexpected films 鈥� funny, twisted and even a little heartbreaking. It opens in theaters nationwide Friday.
To create a dynamic dining room experience, Mylod took a page from Robert Altman鈥檚 playbook in which all of the characters would be on set all the time, acting and conversing even when the script was technically focused on someone else.
鈥淚 needed everybody to be in character all the time and improvising way beyond what we鈥檇 written on the page,鈥� Mylod said. 鈥淪o I recruited this incredibly intelligent and smart and bold cast. No two takes were the same. It was all an exploration.鈥�
The ensemble includes Hong Chau, as the severe and stylish front of house Elsa, Nicholas Hoult as the foodie who has saved up for this night, Anya Taylor-Joy as his skeptical date, John Leguizamo as a movie star, Janet McTeer as a food critic and Reed Birney and Judith Light as regular patrons.
鈥淚f you put 12, 15, 20 actors in a room, that could be a recipe for disaster with egos and everything bouncing off and people wanting to do their best,鈥� Hoult said. 鈥淏ut Mark set a great tone in the rehearsal period.鈥�
With a roaming camera always looming, they had to be on a lot, but there were also opportunities to just watch and admire other鈥檚 performances. During scenes where Fiennes is holding court in front of the diners, Chau said they often had to stop short of clapping for him. It felt like they鈥檇 just been treated to a private performance.
鈥淗e has a way of looking straight into your soul. And it's this fun thing for me because Tyler, the character I鈥檓 playing is meant to be kind of brainwashed by Chef Slowik and adoring of him,鈥� Hoult said. 鈥淪o I all the feelings that I would have as someone who鈥檚 in awe of what Ralph does and has done, I got to just kind of be a fanboy on set and use that.鈥�
Mylod, who considers his palate 鈥渓imited,鈥� knew his behind-the-scenes collaborators would be as key as those in front of the camera in creating this deceptively complex world, including getting 鈥淢ulholland Drive鈥� cinematographer Peter Deming who could find the tension in the frame. 鈥淐hef鈥檚 Table鈥� creator David Gelb helped stage some 鈥渇ood porn鈥� shots. And Dominique Crenn, the chef and owner of a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco, came aboard to advise on all aspects of the environment, from the food to the way certain characters might behave in a restaurant.
鈥淚 was a little nervous around (Dominque) and I didn鈥檛 speak to her that much,鈥� Chau said. 鈥淏ut she kind of like, sidled up next to me one day and said, 鈥業 love what you鈥檙e doing. What you鈥檙e doing is like, spot on. I love how clean and sharp and elegant you are, and I want you to come and work for me.鈥欌��
Chau was a major architect of her character, who was a bit limited on the page and inspired by all the 鈥渇unky people鈥� she鈥檇 seen around Portland, Oregon, while filming 鈥淪howing Up鈥� there. Elsa was originally supposed to look very plain, very beige and basically blend into the scenery.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 a bummer. That鈥檚 a real, real bummer,鈥欌�� Chau said. 鈥淚 was stubborn and kind of dug my heels in and just explained the biography that I kind of came up with for her.鈥�
The film鈥檚 costume designer Amy Westcott, who is married to Mylod, loved Chau鈥檚 vision and helped develop her striking outfit, which felt Victorian and statement-y but also clean and professional.
鈥淭hey completely ambushed me, and I鈥檓 really glad they did,鈥� Mylod said. 鈥淭hey were both completely right.鈥�
Some who have seen 鈥淭he Menu鈥� have latched on to the class dynamics of the restaurant employees and its obscenely wealthy patrons and made 鈥渆at the rich鈥� comparisons to films like the Oscar-winning 鈥� 鈥� and this year鈥檚 Cannes-winning 鈥� .鈥� Mylod thinks that鈥檚 a bit reductive, though.
鈥淎 direct 鈥榣et鈥檚 skewer the rich鈥� is low-hanging fruit, I think,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 tend to approach things more from a character point of view rather than necessarily sociologically as a whole. Those diners, most of them are appalling characters and deeply flawed characters, but it鈥檚 their flaws that I find really interesting because how did they get there? How do their egos de-nature their more vulnerable innocent self to get to that point? And what does it take to strip that away? That鈥檚 the journey that chef鈥檚 work is trying to take them on that evening.鈥�
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
