Colin Stetson (‘The Menu’ composer): For certain moments, ‘every time I see them I am blown away’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I haven’t seen this story told exactly this way,” reflects composer Colin Stetson about “The Menu.” For our recent webchat he continues, “That’s a rarity in a world of recycled storytelling. There are a couple of moments that are so real that every time I see them I am blown away.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
“The Menu” is about a young couple, played by Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, who go to a remote island to dine at an exclusive restaurant. Once there, the renowned chef, Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) presents his creative dishes. As the courses are unveiled, surprises present dangers for the customers.
Stetson wrote the score for the film, directed by Mark Mylod. He explains, “There’s a kind of rhythmic structure to the way the film was written. Certain things can’t be done until certain moments happen. It’s like a light switch. A lot of the time you have a gradual unfolding where the audience is let in on certain things in dribs and drabs. In this film, there are moments that give clear concise punctuation throughout. Entirely new directions in music and aesthetic elements in sound get to come in and alter the character of the music. Restraint was knowing what can be used, where, and up until when.”
The composer even used items from the kitchen for the music of the film. He reveals, “There’s a bit of presence from the culinary. Tone pitch water glasses are played. I wanted to avoid banging on pots and pans rhythm, drum in the kitchen vibes. Where the percussive elements of the kitchen have shown up, they have shown up in more subtle ways. The water glasses show up in a few points, especially at the very end.”
The film mixes sharp comedy with thrilling horror. The evolving tone is structured around the courses on Slowik’s menu. In composing, Stetson says, “I saw the core of the score’s purpose was to be the embodiment of the menu. The plot that has been set and unfolds as we first join our diners. The score gets to be this thing plays with them throughout the course of the film. They interact with it and it interacts with them. There’s moments of it shining through particular characters when they are having specific and deep moments. For my part, in helping me do my job, the whole of it had to be that the score was that plan.”
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