The Menu is a dystopian short film directed by Natasha Kinaru who creates a world that looks very similar to our own, but with one striking difference. Humans are no longer able to feel emotions naturally. Instead they are literally served them on platters at fancy restaurants. The protagonists of the film, ominously named Man (James Tratas) and Woman (Carlotta Morelli), arrive at one of these establishments for an evening of emotional rollercoaster riding. Once seated, the waiter (Jack McCallum), a charmingly mysterious character, brings them the specials for the evening. A fragmented tale of jealousy, insecurity, passion and love unfolds through the emotions the waiter delivers.
The myriad of readings available within the subtext of this film are part of its success, leaving a lasting impression even after watching. Kinaru pulls on ideas of consumption, blending the literal and the metaphorical. As humans, we consume food to survive. But, with increasing importance, we are beginning to rely on other types of consumption too. This has become so pervasive that humans are now reduced to “consumers”. We consume television, film, social media, news, adverts, and millions of products that are are designed in a way that makes us feel like we need them in the same way we need food. The intersection between media and emotions brings up particularly interesting questions surrounding consumption. One theory for why we enjoy film and television is the idea that these mediums simulate different metal states, allowing us to experience realities different than our own. When the media we consume reflects real life, either being closely based on true events (like the decent Jeffrey Dahmer series on Netflix) or though documentaries or news footage, does this problematize our enjoyment of experiencing these different emotional states? Could it result in us being unable to generate deep and meaningful emotions without any external stimuli? Of course this is a very dramatic stretch, but hypothesising about such things generates important and interesting discussions. This is exactly what Natasha Kinaru has achieved with The Menu.
The film is wonderfully constructed. The music is brilliantly woven throughout the narrative with little sprightly flourishes that really add to the quirky nature of the film. The cinematography by Robert Ford fits in with this, creating an eerie symmetry throughout that makes everything seem disturbingly perfect. James Tratas and Carlotta Morelli as Man and Woman manage to be both incredibly natural, but also disturbingly robotic when needed. The changes between emotions are visible on screen – a testament to both actors’ talent as they capture a strange uncanniness. Brining all this together is Jack McCallum as the waiter. He is delightfully mysterious, appearing to control all with a mischievous smile.
An overall compelling, thought-provoking, and, most importantly entertaining film!