The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Widescreen)

 

 

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You will begin watching this film and may feel compelled to turn it off after the first three minutes.

But don't!

Keep watching, take it all in - finish it, and talk to your friends about it. Then watch it again in a week, a month, a year. You may notice something different about it, or might pick up on a missed quip or a piece of scenery that eluded you in the first viewing.

Watching a Peter Greenaway film - in other words - is like looking at a piece of art. Sometimes, whether you love it or hate it, you feel compelled to stare at it to try and figure it out. Greenaway is a trained painter - and has curated numerous shows around the world. He started out in film with shorts focussing on topics such as churchyard furniture, mathematics, steam trains and bathrooms.

In his feature offerings, each frame is a visual feast, full of metaphor, symmetry and allegory ripe for analysis, introspection and deconstruction. The operative metaphor of The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and Her Lover is that of Thatcherism, with each of the title characters symbolizing political ideologies during her reign - an interesting topic that has been written about to a great extent so I won't go into it much here.

The film opens on our Thief, Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) and his gang of thugs, beating up a restaurant owner outside the entrance of his establishment. Albert is taking over the joint and forcing the Cook, Richard Borst (Richard Bohringer) to become his partner in the restaurant. On a nightly basis the gang holds court in the dining room, a lavish setting with a giant Rembrandt painting hung in the background, and red draperies adorning the walls. Albert is accompanied by his wife, Georgina (Helen Mirren), a woman of some sophistication who is the white to his black. While he bosses around the staff and insults the customers, she takes interest in another nightly patron, Michael (Alan Howard), a bookstore owner. They soon become lovers, and when she can sneak away from Albert's punishing grip they are aided by the staff in finding dark corners throughout the restaurant. But their affair is found out by Albert's underlings, and they track Michael down and kill him by force feeding him pages from a book. I won't ruin the ending - but it ranks as one of the greatest acts of revenge ever filmed.

If you have an eye for detail then you will not be disappointed with the host of minutae Greenaway puts into each scene. The story is saturated with fantastic dialogue and whiz bang retorts. The combination of Alberts' complete lack of self-awareness and self-control keeps you on the edge of your seat, a fantastical character for the ages. Amazing cinematography by Sacha Vierney (dolly shots that run seamlessly through the kitchen into the dining room), a haunting soundtrack by frequent Greenaway collaborator Michael Nyman, and costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier. Keep an eye out for when the characters move from room to room - you'll notice that elements of their wardobe change to fit the theme of the new setting.

This is not a film for all tastes - but neither are many masterpieces of art that hang on the walls of the world's most celebrated galleries. This is one painting that initially you may walk by in disgust, but then you might come back one day, reflect on it a bit more, and realize there is something there to be appreciated.

The first time I saw this film, I was mesmerized because of shock. I wasn't supposed to be entertained by what I was seeing! That was several years ago on a VHS rental.

I just watched it again on DVD and, I am proud to say, mature enough to absorb it all and get into the symbolism and humor. If you have only seen it on VHS, get the DVD because the color becomes a brilliant character.

The performances are incredible. Helen Mirren is perfection. To the reviewer who said a cut-out could have been used in her place: Did we watch the same film? She oozed pain, innocence, sensuality, sexuality, freedom, insanity (that we all hoped was a glimmer of sanity) and finally strength. How brave she was to play this role while not being a size 2 twenty-something.

Michael Gambon embodies every obnoxious human being we've ever met. One of the greatest villians in film.

It is hard to watch in places, but ultimately fulfilling.

My favorite movies are the ones that get such extreme reviews. I'm not hauty enough to say that the ones who hated it just didn't get it. I still don't fully "get" it, but I know I loved this film.

Shock.

That is the first rection to many of the scenes. However, it does not - or should not - matter.

I would suggest seeing this movie without expecting anything in particular, just drowning in the colours, moods, music, and emotions. And I wouldn't suggest looking for hidden meanings - this is obviously not a symbolic movie. It is one of those that you don't have to understand, just experience.

You will probably be tempted to leave midway, but it is the stunning final scene that brings the movie to an instinctively perfect conclusion.

Some people say you have to be a freak to like the movie. They ignore the fact that Greenaway is playing with our emotions, combining perfect elements of cinematography to create a grotesque contrast between strange calmness, anger, hate, caring, and, without doubt, shock.

I think what frightens people about this movie is that they can see something familiar even in the pit of madness.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great Film; has it aged well?
Remember seeing this film when it first came out and loving every aspect about it - from the artistic direction, sets, costumes, music to the story line. Read more

Published on July 9 2004 by Mario Lozada

1.0 out of 5 stars disgusting trash
Yuk! How do I give this a negative 5 star rating?

Published on July 9 2004 by Amazon reviewer

5.0 out of 5 stars i got a question.
i want to buy "the cook,the thief,his wife & her lover",but i
want to know if there's an audio french version,or subtitles;if
it is,i'll buy it right now.

Published on Jun 28 2004 by verin olivier

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh my goodness!
I went into Peter Greenaway's "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover" with blinders on. Read more

Published on Jun 16 2004 by Jeffrey Leach

4.0 out of 5 stars Like a Kick in the Gut
If this film was a conscious allegory about Margaret Thatcher's England (about the intellectuals & the public going to sleep and all that), it equally well applies to... Read more

Published on May 19 2004 by C. Gardner

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
While much of Peter Greenaway's work is difficult to access...even if you happen to be watching it, his films never fail to challenge, titilate and, above all, impact audiences... Read more

Published on May 13 2004 by Allstrangeaway

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cook Not For The Faint of Heart
The first time I saw "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover", I thought it was the most vile, disgusting film I'd ever seen. Read more

Published on April 21 2004 by Timothy King

5.0 out of 5 stars Another unusual film from Greenaway
I just had a few comments on this unusual movie.

I'm something of a fan of Greenaway although his movies, which are filled with mature and dark and even perverse themes, are... Read more

Published on April 10 2004 by magellan

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible
Couldn't get over this film. The music, the art direction, the perversity. What more do you want?

Seriously though, it's very thought provoking. Read more

Published on Mar 17 2004 by marcolepsis

1.0 out of 5 stars This movie is just plain hideous
The writing, directing, acting, sets, and cinetography were all first rate. The costumes were also fantastic, but the content of this movie were just plain disgusting. Read more

Published on Mar 7 2004

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