The Menu is a strangely enigmatic movie. Although it is marketed as a horror/comedy, that does not fully convey the plot, especially in a genre with such a wide scope. It is mystery, suspense, satire, and tragic all at once. Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy, the film’s two leads, are accustomed to this wide variety of genres. While Taylor-Joy has a plethora of experiences on the periphery of horror, including Thoroughbreds, Split, Last Night in Soho, and The Witch, Hoult has previously worked in horror-comedy on Warm Bodies. I sat down with the two of them and asked what it was about ideas on the verge of genre and a script like The Menu that kept calling to them.
“I believe it is uniqueness,” Taylor-Joy claims. “I find it unbearable to watch a TV show or movie with as I am always making up lines and plots. I feel like, “That person is going to die,” or, more accurately, “This is going to happen, they are going to realize that love is the power.” Fortunately, just my partner finds it enjoyable; nobody else does. Furthermore, I was unable to reveal to you what would happen next as I was reading the script for The Menu. And I really could not get the conclusion. And I desired to participate in it.”
“I assumed I would not be very good at doing a full-on horror movie,” he chuckles. “Because I do not really like to act afraid.” I just not see myself going through eight weeks of, like [Hoult makes a terrified gasp sound]. There is only so much I can handle. Tyler finds it enjoyable to kind of wonder what is going on. It is strange, and it was enjoyable for me to draw attention to the fact that despite the terrible events taking place in this restaurant, he is still entirely preoccupied with his food and enjoyment. I suppose it was enjoyable to play that paradoxical game, which was the reverse of the usual option.”
Should Hoult succeed in infusing humor into the horrifying happenings surrounding him, Taylor-Joy becomes somewhat of the straight man in contrast to him. She tells me, like Hoult, how much fun it was to play off the excitement of the moment and how her character managed to stand out despite everything. “I love the fact that Margot is deeply comfortable in her own skin,” she continues. “She refuses to hear that she is mistaken. She is the only one in the group who is not really attempting to win anyone over. All she is attempting to do is offer an experience. It was enjoyable because, since it was my work, maintaining a straight face was frequently the most difficult thing. It was to maintain composure while Nick was talking ridiculously and cramming his face with food.”
Anya Taylor-Joy seated at a menu table
A small portion of the internet was already enthralled with The Menu before anyone had seen a single scene from the film, and it was all because of Anya Taylor-Joy’s hair. The ATJ fanbase pays great attention to Taylor-Joy’s hair; in real life, the star has worn blonde, brown, and (briefly) ginger in addition to her current and most often spotted color. Her most devoted followers are always thrilled to see her try a new color or go back to a classic because her hair has changed just as frequently in her on-screen persona. Anya Taylor-Joy’s latest hairstyle, The Menu, is a rich orange ombre that is the closest she is ever been to Beth Harmon’s nut red since The Queen’s Gambit. In response to my question on Taylor-Joy’s awareness of this obsession among her fan base, she hinted to her potential future travels.
“One of my favorite things about my job is changing my hair,” she admits, acknowledging that she had no clue people were so aware of her. “I realized at a very young age that characters were real to me. To be honest, I am not interested in playing myself. Thus, the first thing that springs to mind is “what do they look like, and then what is their face like when they are alone?” I therefore like trying to seem as diverse as I can in each and every movie. However, there is one thing I truly want for myself: at some point, I want to dye everything red, rock that for a little while, and probably cut it off or something.”