The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover

Michael Gambon - Albert Spica
Helen Mirren - Georgina Spica
Richard Bohringer - Richard Borst
Alan Howard - Michael
Tim Roth - Mitchel
Ciarán Hinds - Cory
Gary Olsen - Spangler
Ewan Stewart - Harris
Roger Ashton-Griffiths - Turpin
Ron Cook - Mews
Liz Smith - Grace
Emer Gillespie - Patricia
Janet Henfrey - Alice
Arnie Breeveld - Eden
Tony Alleff - Troy
Paul Russell - Pup
Alex Kingston - Adele
Ian Dury - Terry Fitch

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.