The Menu (2022)
Anya Taylor-Joy: Margot
Photos
Quotes
-
Margot : I don't like your food.
Chef Slowik : What did you say?
Margot : I said, "I don't like your food," and I would like to send it back.
Chef Slowik : I'm sorry to hear that. What about my food is not to your liking?
Margot : For starters, you've taken the joy out of eating. Every dish you served tonight has been some intellectual exercise rather than something you want to sit and enjoy. When I eat your food, it tastes like it was made with no love.
Chef Slowik : Oh, this is ridiculous. We always cook with love. Everyone knows love is the most important ingredient.
Margot : Then you're kidding yourself. Come on, Chef. I thought tonight was a night of hard home truths. This is one of them. You cook with obsession, not love. Even your hot dishes are cold. You're a chef. Your single purpose on this Earth is to serve people food that they might actually like, and you have failed. You've failed. And you've bored me. And the worst part is I'm still fucking hungry.
-
Margot : You know what I'd really like?
Chef Slowik : Tell me.
Margot : A cheeseburger.
Chef Slowik : [the look in his eyes changes, and he even manages a smile] We could do a cheeseburger.
Margot : A real cheeseburger. Not some fancy, deconstructed, affluent bullshit, a *real* cheeseburger.
Chef Slowik : I'll make you a very good, very traditional cheeseburger.
Margot : I don't think you can.
Chef Slowik : I'll make you feel as if you're eating the first cheeseburger you ever ate. The cheap one your parents could barely afford.
Margot : Show me.
Chef Slowik : How do you like it?
Margot : Medium, American cheese.
Chef Slowik : American cheese is the best cheese for a cheeseburger because it melts without splitting.
Margot : How much will that set me back?
Chef Slowik : $9.95.
Margot : That come with fries?
Chef Slowik : Neils?
Chef : Yes, chef?
Chef Slowik : Is the fryer still on?
Chef : Yes, chef.
Chef Slowik : Crinkle-cut, or julienne?
-
Margot : Now that... is a cheeseburger.
Chef Slowik : Yeah. That is a cheeseburger.
Margot : Unfortunately, I think my eyes were a little bigger than my stomach.
Chef Slowik : Well, I understand.
Margot : Can I get the rest to go?
Chef Slowik : One moment, please. One cheeseburger to go. And a gift bag. Thank you for dining at Hawthorn.
-
Margot : You don't have to call him Chef, Tyler. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know about your existence.
Tyler : I kind of want him to...
Margot : Like you?
Tyler : Yeah. Kinda.
Margot : Tyler, you're the customer. You're paying him to serve you. It doesn't really matter whether he likes you or not.
Tyler : Right. Wait. What does that mean?
Margot : Mmm. Nothing. Relax. Just eat your rock.
-
Chef Slowik : Who are you?
Margot : I. Am. Margot. Why do you care?
Chef Slowik : Because. I need to know if you're with us or with them.
-
Margot : I am perfectly capable of deciding when I eat, and what.
-
Chef Slowik : Folks, I'm afraid our menu cannot continue as planned until we deal with an unresolved matter. You.
Tyler : Me?
Chef Slowik : Mmm-hmm. You. Tell me why you're here.
Tyler : You know, because I wanted to...
Chef Slowik : Swallow first.
Tyler : I wanted to experience your food, Chef.
Chef Slowik : And what were you told? What were you told ahead of time?
Tyler : You told me it'd be the greatest menu ever created.
Chef Slowik : Right. And? And?
Tyler : And that everyone would die.
Chef Slowik : Everyone would die. You had a date. I seem to remember you had a date. Not the young woman here tonight, so what happened to her? Your date?
Tyler : She broke up with me, Chef.
Chef Slowik : So, you brought Margot.
Tyler : Mmm-hmm.
Chef Slowik : Mmm-hmm. Why?
Tyler : 'Cause you don't offer seatings for one.
Chef Slowik : So, you hired her knowing she'd die.
Tyler : Yes.
Margot : You entitled piece of shit! I'm gonna kill you, Tyler!
-
Chef Slowik : Our first course is called The Island. On your plate are plants from around the island, placed on rocks from the shore, covered in barely frozen, filtered seawater which will flavor the dish as it melts.
Tyler : You know, this is what the guy was fishing for earlier...
Chef Slowik : Sorry?
Tyler : Um... Sorry, Chef.
Chef Slowik : It's perfectly all right. Yes, they are those very same scallops. Now, here is what you must remember about this dish. We, the people on this island, are not important. The island and the nutrients it provides exist in their most perfect state without us gathering them or manipulating them, or digesting them. What happens inside this room is meaningless compared to what happens outside in nature, in the soil, in the water, in the air. We are but a frightened nanosecond. Nature is timeless. Enjoy.
Margot : That's a cheery thought. Are you crying?
Tyler : It's just that I find it all very moving. It's all so beautiful. I just... It's almost too beautiful to eat.
-
Chef Slowik : So, the question is, do you wanna die with those who give, or with those who take?
Margot : But I die either way? It's arbitrary.
Chef Slowik : No, it's not arbitrary. Nothing in this kitchen is arbitrary. Please pick. These decisions are important, and, uh, our menu is strictly timed. In 15 minutes, I'll take a break between courses, and that is how long you have to decide. It's our side or theirs. In the meantime, please return to your seat. The next dish is exquisite.
-
Chef Slowik : Who are you?
Margot : Margot. My name is Margot.
Chef Slowik : I've served many Margots. You're not a Margot. No.
Margot : What the fuck does it matter?
Chef Slowik : It matters because this menu, this guest list, this entire evening has been painstakingly planned. And you were not a part of that plan. And it's spoiling everything. In order to proceed, I have to know where to seat you. With us, or with them? It's really... It's very important.
Margot : And then you'll let me live?
Chef Slowik : Let you live? No! Of course not. Can't you see that that would ruin the menu? We're all gonna die tonight.
-
Chef Slowik : You haven't touched your food.
Margot : There... There is no food.
Chef Slowik : Well, no. This is food.
Margot : So, um, lots more food to come. Don't wanna fill up.
Chef Slowik : That would not be possible. I've precisely designed the portions to account for that. So, you won't fill up. Please eat. The menu only makes sense if you eat.
Margot : But you told us not to eat.
Chef Slowik : That is not what I meant, madam. And you know it.
Margot : Well, thank you for your concern, but I am perfectly capable of deciding when I eat and what. Thank you.
-
Tyler : Oh, my God. I mean, it's next-level badassery. The way he weaves in historical allegories. I mean, the game is trying to guess what the overarching theme of the entire meal is gonna be. You won't know until the end.
Margot : Wait. You... You like this?
Tyler : Mmm-hmm. Oh, yeah.
Margot : He's basically insulting you.
Tyler : No, no, no. You don't get it. It's a concept.
Margot : I know what a concept is, Tyler.
Tyler : Trust me. He's telling a story. That's what makes his food so exciting. He's not just a chef. He's a storyteller. And he doesn't give a fuck about the rules.
Margot : Call me the girl next door, but maybe there are some rules that you should give a fuck about, like, I don't know, giving food to people at a restaurant.
Tyler : Dearest, no one would ever call you the girl next door.
-
Tyler : Do you make that with a Pacojet?
Jeremy : Exactly right, sir.
Tyler : Mmm. You know, a Pacojet can produce a powderized, uh, snow-like texture.
Margot : Cool.
Tyler : Yeah. I have one.
Jeremy : You really know your stuff, Mr. Ledford.
Tyler : You know my name?
Jeremy : Oh, we like to know everyone who dines with us.
-
Chef Slowik : I guess I'm gonna have to make your decision for you. You belong here with your own breed.
Margot : And what breed is that?
Chef Slowik : With the shit shovelers. You thought I couldn't tell? Oh, I know a fellow service industry worker when I see one. Mr. Leibrandt. How do you know him? You've been eyeing him all evening.
Margot : Well, I think you know.
Chef Slowik : No, I don't. So, he paid for an experience. And I can tell, as one provider of experiences to another, that you don't rattle easily. So, how did he rattle you?
Margot : He didn't rattle...
Chef Slowik : Margot.
Margot : He told me to agree with everything he said and continue eye contact while he jerked off.
Chef Slowik : Wow. Specific.
Margot : Not really. Pretty unoriginal. What rattled me is that he told me to tell him that he was a good man, and that I was his daughter, and that he loved me, and I loved him and...
Chef Slowik : And so, he's a romantic.
-
Margot : Okay, so what is it with this food thing?
Tyler : I don't know. It's like, you know how people idolize, you know, athletes, and musicians, and painters, and stuff?
Margot : Mmm-hmm.
Tyler : Yeah, those people are idiots. What they do, it doesn't matter. They play with inflatable balls and ukuleles and shit. Chefs, they play with the raw materials of life itself. And death itself. It's... I mean, I've watched every fucking episode of Chef's Table two or three times. I've watched Slowik's 20 times. I've watched him explain the exact moment a green strawberry is perfectly unripe. I've watched him plate a raw scallop during its last dying contraction of muscle. It's art on the edge of the abyss, which is where God works, too. It's the same.
-
Chef Slowik : I've told you who I am. I'm Julian Slowik, and I am the chef here. Now, who are you? I'll ask again. Who are you?
Margot : I'm Margot Mills.
Chef Slowik : So, where are you from, Margot?
Margot : I'm from Grand Island, Nebraska. Now, does that make you feel better? You want the address for Mom's trailer park, you asshole?
-
Margot : We have reached the base camp of Mount Bullshit. This is insane.
-
Elsa : [deeply pretentious] Feel free to observe the cooks as they innovate. But please do not photograph our dishes. Chef strongly feels that the beauty of his creations lies in their ephemeral nature.
Margot : [to Tyler] And I strongly feel the need to punch her in the cunt. Like an uppercut. Right to the cunt.
