Flux Gourmet is a 2022 British psychological satirical comedy-horror movie directed by Peter Strickland (Berberian Sound Studio, The Duke Of Burgundy, In Fabric) and starring Gwendoline Christie, Asa Butterfield, and Fatma Mohamed.
Flux Gourmet is about a group of "sonic caterers," or musicians/performance artists who create performances based on recording the sound of food cooking. The group, who can't decide on a name, consists of temperamental leader Elle (Mohamed) and two of her ex-lovers, Billy (Butterfield) and Lamina (Ariane Labed). Over the course of a residency at the manor house of the well-known art patron Jan Stevens (Christie), the group butts heads with Stevens as well as each other - all observed by Stones, the resident "dossierge" who interviews the artists and is currently suffering from chronic flatulence.
This film contains the following tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation: After an act of vandalism by the rival collective Mangrove Snacks, Jan Stevens declares that the group's equipment must be confiscated to be dusted for fingerprints, including the flanger Elle and her had fought over. It's made clear that the "fingerprints" excuse was a ruse to get rid of the flanger, but it's left unclear whether Jan Stevens staged the whole thing or simply took advantage of a genuine act of vandalism.
- Bathos: Much of the film's humor comes from its serious-as-a-heart-attack treatment of objectively silly stuff. Take, for instance, when Jan Stevens tearfully begs Billy not to leave her:Jan Stevens: It wasn't about the flanger, Billy! It wasn't about the flanger!
- Bittersweet Ending: Elle is accidentally killed by the Mangrove Snacks (maybe), and even people who fought with her bitterly seem quite sad about it. However, Lamina and Billy are performing together, this time joined by Stones - who finally figured out what was giving him that gas.
- Dr. Jerk: Dr. Glock, the resident doctor at the manor who examines Stones and takes part in after-dinner conversation, is a smug, condescending snob who constantly namedrops obscure Greek mythology and sneers at people when they don't understand. He also has appalling bedside manner, and is shown drawing out Stones' diagnosis for no real reason but to be a jerk.
- Faking the Dead: It's left unclear, but there's a woman in a hat and sunglasses who sure looks like Elle present at the performance where they cook and eat her body.
- Full-Name Basis: Jan Stevens is almost always Jan Stevens; the only person who calls her "Jan" is Billy, and he only does so once in bed.
- Gasshole: Stones has a digestive problem that gives him awful gas, and he spends most of the movie trying to keep from farting in front of everybody. It later turns out to be celiac disease.
- Honor Before Reason: When Jan Stevens suggests toning down the use of the flanger during performances, Elle flatly refuses. It doesn't matter that Jan Stevens is paying for the residency, or that she's only asking them to tone it down rather than remove it completely, or that it would barely make a difference in the mix, or that Elle isn't in charge of the mix in the first place and in fact didn't know what a flanger was until a minute before: what matters is her refusal to compromise.
- How We Got Here: The film starts with the preparation of an unclear, meat-based dish for a sonic catering performance. At the end, it's revealed to be a soup made out of Elle's body.
- Inherently Funny Words: This movie gets a lot of mileage out of the word "flanger."
- It's All About Me: Elle is quite self-centered, dismissing and undermining the contributions of her bandmates while positioning herself as the true genius of the bunch.
- Pet the Dog: Elle is a temperamental, self-centered person, but she expresses genuine care and concern for Stones' health when she finds out about his ailment.
- Say My Name: Whenever Elle sees Jan Stevens, she murmurs "Jan Stevens!" under her breath, with various degrees of awe, anger, and resentment as the movie goes on.
- Serious Business: The idea of "sonic catering" might seem silly and outlandish to most people, but everyone in the movie takes it very seriously.
- Straw Vegetarian: Elle is a vegetarian and refuses to use meat in her performances; it's implied that Billy and Lamina have to go along with it, too. The first meat dish they use for a performance is Elle's dead body.
- Toilet Humor: Much of Stones' screen time is spent desperately trying to hold in a fart.
