POSITIVES
If you consider yourself a foodie who likes to discover cuisine that is delicious looking and very Instagram friendly, then this is a film you should check out. If you work in a restaurant that has to cater to those foodies, then this is absolutely something you should check out.
Considering the premise, I suppose it has to be mentioned, but this does showcase some fancy looking dining. The plot progression actually moves along via what meal course is being served at the moment, and the narrative in turn gets more and more engaging as it goes through the whole menu.
I appreciated the cleverness to the conversations, the interactions, the dark humor, who the characters are, the tense moments, and the one location setting that the film perfectly takes advantage of. It was like I was a fly on the wall observing the fascinating situation these people are in.
Led by the fantastic Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, and Hong Chau, the characters they play will really grab your attention simply by the curiosity to see what they are going to do next. The rest of the ensemble cast are also quite solid, from John Leguizamo, Janet McTeer, Paul Adelstein, Aimee Carrero, Judith Light, Rob Yang, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, plus many more.
The thematic social commentaries and philosophical ideas this movie makes are very profound and matches the provocative plot. Definitely provides food for thought. Pun intended.
NEGATIVES
Depending on your perspective, this movie might be triggering. You may just complain that it’s being unfair.
There are some plot conveniences or plot holes or plot inconsistencies that the movie and the characters just manage to ignore. Wished those were actually addressed.
One can argue that this movie itself doesn’t give a satisfying answer to its social commentaries and philosophical ideas.
You will either be super annoyed or incredibly delighted by the character Tyler, played by Nicholas Hoult. He will either infuriate you to the point you want to punch him in the face, or amuse you with his glaringly flawed personality that you want to punch him in the face.
Lots of food shown here and lots of talk about how exquisite they all are. Not a lot of actual cooking though. I see them preparing the meals, but I was a little annoyed by not even getting much B-footage of the cooks actually cooking. Not to mention what you might actually feel about whether you would actually go to a restaurant with these kinds of meals.
lovedit ENJOYED IT likedititsokayitsmehitsterrible
