Warning: This post contains major spoilers for The Menu
Anya Taylor-Joy fixed an outdated Hollywood movie trope while filming The Menu. The Menu followed wealthy patrons visiting an exclusive destination restaurant owned by an acclaimed chef, Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). However, as the night progressed, the guests, including food fanatic Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and a reluctant Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), learned that Slowik had taken his conceptual dining experience too far, planning to kill them all.
As The Menu's cast of characters sat stunned by the revelation, Tyler seemed too relaxed, and Slowik revealed to Margot that Tyler knew about his plan. Margot understandably became enraged and slapped Tyler across the face. However, that wasn't the original plan in The Menu's script. Initially, Margot was going to cry silently upon the revelation. However, Anya Taylor-Joy didn't feel like that was appropriate or realistic given the circumstances, stating in an interview with BBC Radio 1: "I get a lot of, like, 'men doing really terrible things' and women sitting silently while one tear slowly falls. I'm like, 'Oh no, no, no, no, no. We get mad and angry.'"
Anya Taylor-Joy's Off-Script The Menu Scene Avoided Tired Movie Tropes
For decades Hollywood often had a sexist approach to feminine rage. If a woman ever expressed anger in a film, it was often maniacal and unhinged, with the character serving more as an antagonist. Therefore, if audiences were supposed to sympathize with the character, she would have been far more reserved, quietly expressing her rage through soft tears and glares. Anya Taylor-Joy movies and TV shows have prompted discussion around this issue in the past, including The Queen's Gambit, which came under fire for falling victim to this trope and was even accused of eroticizing Taylor-Joy's character's suffering (via Indy100).
Taylor-Joy's decision to go off-script in this particular scene in The Menu ultimately saved it from going down the same path. When speaking to director Mark Mylod during shooting, she stated that her character slapping Hoult's would feel more emotionally authentic. Irrespective of gender identity, Margot silently crying upon discovering Tyler knew about the bloodbath all along would never be realistic. Furthermore, it also would have been too derivative for her character, who acted upon her initiative in The Menu and was not a damsel in distress.
The Menu Shows Why It's Important To Get Feminine Rage Right
The Menu's ending showed how cleverly that rage can be weaponized, by Margot exploiting Julian's insecurities to escape the island. More importantly, its depiction of Margot helped to shut down the harmful stereotypes that exist in Hollywood, showing that anger is an appropriate reaction for women to have. Additionally, Mylod and Hoult's eagerness to go ahead with Taylor-Joy's idea in The Menu emphasized why it's also important to listen to women when they feel as though they are being portrayed inaccurately.
Anya Taylor-Joy's script change and deep understanding of her character helped shift the audience's perception of feminine rage. Margot remained headstrong and focused throughout The Menu. The slap scene alone solidified her as one of the most iconic protagonists of 2022, and it was Taylor-Joy's initiative that saw it realized.