The Menu

 Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult,
Hong Chau, John Leguizamo, Janet McTeer,
Judith Knight, Paul Adelstein

"Wonderful surprises await you all"

A group are invited to feast on the gastronomic delights of renowned Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) in his restaurant called Hawthorne on a secluded, private island. An elderly couple who are regulars, a food critic and her editor, three guys in the tech industry, a foodie fanatic and his girlfriend and a has been actor with his female assistant. All of them are affluent as the exclusive full course dining experience is not cheap, at all.

As the evening progresses from the first course to the next, the diners brutally realize they were personally chosen by Chef Slowik. Each course is specifically designed to make his guests very uncomfortable. It is like a can of worms is unleashed upon the exquisitely, well conceived dishes. It turns out Chef Julian has a lot of ax to grind not only against his moneyed guests but against the whole fine dining industry, itself.

Both Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy’s portrayal of multi-faceted, layered characters was brilliant. The ensemble cast was effectively good, as well. Do pay special attention to Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot, she is the main ingredient in this dark comedy that simmers to expose what ails the restaurant industry. The movie is a social commentary on the food industry. From sexual harassment, inequality in the service industry, the cancel culture of the food media, the canonization of popular Michelin star chefs and elitism in the fine dining world.

Make sure, you have a firm stomach as some of the scenes can be quite explicitly shocking. Much like the guests who are trapped with no chance of escaping the evil designs of Chef Julian, you will be engrossed and riveted until the fiery end. 

Elle

Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte,

Anna Consigny, Jonas Bloquet

Dutch born director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Basic Instinct, Total Recall) presents a revenge dark comedy (in French with English subtitles) starring French actress Isabelle Huppert. Her performance as Michele Leblanc, a successful business owner who refuses to be a victim (in every sense of the word) after she is violently raped by a masked intruder in her own home is very powerful.

The first few minutes of the film is pitch black with grunts and groans. Then it shocks our senses as we are shown the brutality of the assault which is witnessed by Michele's black cat. Then the attacker leaves, she picks herself up, cleans the broken shards of glass, takes a long shower and simply goes to bed. The next day she goes to her video gaming company like nothing happened.

She only 'opens' up during an intimate dinner with her close friends. Her friends are shocked but they are more stunned that Michele adopts a stoic, nonchalant demeanor, being quite dismissive about the entire disturbing incident.

Michele is surrounded by an odd mixture of colorful people like her good for nothing son, his controlling pregnant girlfriend, her theatrical mother, her small group of close friends and her business associates. Although she barely talks about the incident, it dangles over her head like a little cloud that refuses to fade away. She arms herself with a gun, goes to bed with a hammer under her pillow. A certain horrific and traumatic chapter in her childhood also resurfaces from the deepest and darkest folds of her past as if she didn't have enough on her very full plate. 

The identity of her attacker is revealed well before the gripping finale. The tone of the film then takes on a cat and mouse game between them handled with dark humor, dangerous flirtation and defiant subjection. That it ends with a shocking yet triumphant twist clearly justifies everything that elle (she) stands for. 

Kudos to Isabelle Huppert for accepting this daring and risque role. Director Paul Verhoeven remarked in one interview "No American actress would take on such an amoral movie."  She is one of France's greatest actresses playing women of a certain age who are not afraid to take risks and does it so well. Her personification of Michele as this strong woman who empowers herself with stoicism, wit and a wicked sense of humor to get through her life's many challenges was admittedly a bit difficult to fathom. Even if we cannot really understand how and why she is that way ..,. we still admire her for her tenacious spirit.

FOXCATCHER

Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo,

Steve Carell, Vanessa Redgrave,

Sienna Miller

Next up for our movie marathon here in HK is another compelling true story. A disturbingly dark drama about sports, wealth, and murder. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo portray Mark and David Schultz respectively. They are brothers and champions of the U.S. wrestling team, both gold medalist Olympians. They are commissioned by the reclusive billionaire John Du Pont (Steve Carell) to spearhead a training unit for the U.S. team to achieve success in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. This is done on the du Pont sprawling estate known as Foxcatcher.

The film shows the different paths the Schultz brothers embark upon once training begins. Mark who has always been insecure about his capabilities spirals out of control. He loses motivation and barely makes the U.S. Olympic team. Dave does better in coaching but is sidetracked by concerns about his sibling's attitude as well as the odd relationship that develops between Mark and the creepy John du Pont. It is vague to say the least. There are implications of intimacy or it might just be the eccentricities of a lonely tycoon who is clearly a deranged figure. He seems to be driven by a fierce patriotism and is convinced that America is losing its glory so he's determined to see it soar again. By putting together a formidable U.S wrestling team is his way to achieve that myopic goal.

Steve Carell as the creepy John du Pont delivers a powerful performance. It is completely focused and profound pretty much like the wealthy industrialist. Carell is precise and sturdy as his character is certainly not a beloved figure. Almost unrecognizable with all those heavy facial make up to resemble du Pont, Carell sinks deeply into the character of a man whose hope for his country is shadowed by his self doubts and his constant need for approval from his demanding mother. Certainly a tragic figure who had good intentions but the method he chose to achieve them had lethal consequences. 

The director allows an in depth understanding of all the motives yet there were also a fair amount of ambiguity. He draws out scenes that offer much to the narrative but there is still so much left out that we do not know about as well. 

"Foxcatcher" is quite dark and contains disturbing material which may not appeal to everybody. It is about many things - sports, sibling rivalry, the clash of egos but most of all it explores the liberties and constraints that come with the effect of vast wealth. We might be able to buy whatever we want but it won't feed a hungry soul that longs for something money can never buy! That in itself is the sad part of this psychological drama.