“TASTING MENU” ***
A celebrated chef and her partner runs a successful restaurant on the beautiful Catalonia seacoast, and suddenly announces the decision of closing the establishment, after serving eclectic and selective guests throughout 15 years of service. For the occasion of the final dinner night, she invites a group of 30 distinguished wealthy people from different areas with the purpose of offering an unforgettable evening of delightful cooking, exotic cocktails, cheerful interactions and a surprising dessert that should arrive on a boat. But while these personalities are reunited to experience the wonders of her culinary, they will actually examine themselves as the course of the night puts them face to face with their troubled routines.
In director Roger Gual’s colorful and sophisticated comedy, the characters’ dilemmas are the core of the narrative, putting aside the expectations created around the restaurant’s last meal. Different from films like “Big Night” and “Chocolat” the menu is an element that brings them together, but the director’s main intention is to reveal the aspirations and uneasiness of his characters, offering an irresistible look inside those guests’ desires instead of their appetite. Of course, the camera shines around marvelous mouth-watering dishes but the attention is on the efforts of each one to reconnect with their past, to deal with their insecurities and to reconcile with themselves. Gual manages the situation with a refreshing touch, a charismatic and elegant sarcasm on modern issues, creating a relevant affection towards the troubled players. A famous and gorgeous writer reencounters her ex-husband in order to straighten up their unsolved break-up; meanwhile she’s disturbed and divided by the presence of her editor, with whom she’s been having an affair; a quiet mysterious man who could be a food-critic trying to spoil the event; a pair of Japanese investors who each offers a business deal to the restaurant’s owners and are accompanied by a lunatic journalist who’s as much sexy as she’s silly; and a hopeless widow who won’t leave the house without carrying her beloved’s ashes; this character is magnificently played by Fionnula Flanagan, keeping her anguish quiet, but soon will turn things up, proving to be the strongest and most resolved person among them. An Irish and Spanish co-production, the film takes an irresistible turn when the inevitable consequences bring the night to its climax. The cast includes Stephen Rea as the mysterious guest and the attractive pair of Spanish actors, Claudia Bassols and Jan Cornet as the couple trying to figure out their estranged relationship. (Opens Friday at Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street, NYC)
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