The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover – 1989 | 124 mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Iconoclastic filmmaker Peter Greenaway outdoes himself with this darkly humourous Jacobean fairy tale of eating, love, sex and death. The film boasts breathtaking production design, Jean-Paul Gaultier’s garish costumes and Sacha Vierny’s artful camera work. This violent and grimly comic work is not for everyone, but those with a strong stomach will be amply rewarded by Greenaway’s most accessible film. Michael Gambon is imperious and violent in a gloriously rich performance by whilst Helen Mirren, in a role which was originally intended for Vanessa Redgrave, is all calm courteousness and reserved acceptance until her resentment is inflamed.

The setting is a smart French restaurant, La Hollandaise, where every night the chef (Richard Bohringer) prepares a lavish menu. Among his regular customers are Albert Spica (Michael Gambon), a loudmouthed, boorish, violent London gangster, who dines with his entourage of seedy underlings, and his frustrated wife, Georgina (Helen Mirren). Georgina is attracted to a solitary book-reading diner in the restaurant, Michael (Andrew Howard), and the two begin a secret affair under the nose of her violent husband during frequent trips to the lavatory.

With the help of the restaurant’s voyeuristic chef, each night the lovers meet for a clandestine rendezvous without the knowledge of Albert until their secret is eventually revealed. Albert spirals into an angry rage over his wife’s infidelity and takes a typically violent revenge, triggering a more unusual retaliation from her.