When you’re paying for an extravagant meal, you don’t expect to get murdered for it. But this is exactly the situation The Menu’s characters find themselves in, after reserving to dine at chef Julian’s uber-exclusive Hawthorne restaurant.
The guests try really hard to get themselves out of this pickle, but only Margot gets through. So why does Margot suddenly order a cheeseburger? What is the significance of this dish?
Margot orders a cheeseburger because it was the very first food item that Julian made during his days as an unknown chef that brought him real joy. This move makes Julian realize that Margot is not like the rest of his rich clientele that he intends to punish, and so he lets her escape.
The Menu’s underlying commentary is about the people who take food for granted, especially due to their wealth, power, connections, or intellectual superiority complex.
Each of these things is reflected in the guests present at Hawthorne—Lillian makes lofty remarks about the food that has nothing to do with its actual taste, while Tyler pretends to be a culinary scholar who, in reality, wouldn’t even be able to boil water without burning it.
Margot is the only odd customer here because she didn’t “choose” to dine at Julian’s restaurant—she was hired by Tyler to fill the vacant seat he had earlier purchased for his ex-girlfriend. What’s worse is that Tyler knew about Julian’s homicidal plan and still brought Margot to the restaurant to die, keeping her in the dark.
While all the customers are desperate to get out alive, Margot is especially motivated because she knows she doesn’t deserve to die there.
When she breaks into Julian’s personal quarters, she realizes there was a point in time when Julian enjoyed cooking. In particular, he cherished his days at his first job, making cheeseburgers at Hamburger Howie’s.
However, as Julian climbs up the ranks, he gets increasingly depressed and angry about the superficial folks who did not truly appreciate his food. This is also why he creates the murderous Menu, his last supper, so to speak.
All through the night, Margot has been taking huge risks, and she decides to take another one by sending her food back to the chef and asking for a cheeseburger instead. It’s in that moment that Julian, too, accepts that Margot doesn’t deserve to die with all of them.
It’s also in this scene that we witness Julian cooking with real pleasure and gratitude for the first time in the whole film. Margot’s simple cheeseburger order invoked so much raw emotion—taking the chef back to simpler days when cooking was enjoyable rather than superficial.
Margot helped Julian experience this process one last time, which is why he packs up her food in a doggy bag and allows her to leave Hawthorne safely. In the end, it was a cheeseburger that saved the day!
About The Menu
The Menu is a 2022 American dark comedy thriller directed by Mark Mylod and written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, based on an original story created by Tracy. It is produced by Adam McKay, Betsy Koch, and Will Ferrell.
It depicts a group of snobby diners who are invited to an exclusive dinner by renowned chef, Julian Slowik. They slowly realize that there are many unbound horrors planned for them on the menu.
The ensemble cast is made up of Ralph Fiennes, Hong Chau, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Janet McTeer, Reed Birney, Judith Light, and John Leguizamo.
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