The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

Featured Audience Ratings

• David L

  
  This is a film I hadn't watched in a while and I have to say after I pulled out my DVD and took a look at the film again it still hasn't lost any of its power. 'The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover' is a film that doesn't fit into one certain genre,… More
  This is a film I hadn't watched in a while and I have to say after I pulled out my DVD and took a look at the film again it still hasn't lost any of its power. 'The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover' is a film that doesn't fit into one certain genre, its part black comedy, part crime thriller, part horror, part film-noir. It is about about four twisted characters and a series of events that play out over an entire week. The owner of a French restaurant, Albert Spica(the thief), occupies it daily in order to stuff his face and beat on the innocent bystanders that surround him and cannot touch him. The owner of the restaurant(the cook) constantly watches in awe as Albert Spica humiliates everyone and talks and talks and talks, yet says nothing. The thief's wife, Georgina(his wife), is beaten, raped, and humiliated every day by the thief. She falls in love with another man at another table, Michael(her lover), and begins to have a rather passionate affair with him. What results is one of the most outrageous and bizarre films I've ever seen. Peter Greenaway has created a film that is unlike anything that has ever been made before. It is a film that is so disgusting and dark and tasteless, and yet so beautiful and intelligent and fresh that it must be seen to be believed. All of the performances are unforgettable, especially Helen Mirren as the wife, in a heart wrenching performance. Michael Gambon is absolutely terrifying as the thief. People can discuss the political implications that the film implies as well. I know some don't care about that stuff though but it does add a extra layer to the story. The attention to detail in the set-pieces depict the one pertaining to the outrageous and decadent nature of our time and the times in which we live where the thief consumes everything and is wasteful. As a result, there is a genuine sense of true horror throughout the film. The graphic violence and sex only add the the dark nature of the depiction of a world, long destroyed by the greedy punks that have overrun the world. The punks in this film are much older than the ones that are usually depicted, and we the post-apocalyptic world outside for many brief glimpses in which there is a lot of fog, smoke, grime, and filth. We really get a sense that the world that is depicted in this film was once truly beautiful and open to possibility, and the fact that it is a world that is long gone makes the film far more tragic than we would usually expect, especially one with such grand texture and such a dark sense of humor. This is the kind of film that reminds me that people in the film industry can still make intelligent, smart, and brilliant films without having to pile on the excess. The film works because it is not only effective, but it is also original storytelling. The film's use of it's set design only amplifies the way it is presents and gives the film even more meaning with it's vibrant colors and the way that each set piece in the entire film represents a different color of the rainbow. The music by Michael Nyman is simply one of the most chilling and unforgettable scores I've heard in a film. It only enhances the beauty of the film though. While the film is certainly not for everyone, especially children(although it won't be easy for them to view it given it's NC-17 rating), this film is for the kind of adult audience who likes to think and not just be shown something that will waste their time. For people who want to be challenged and shown a film that will make them think about the world in a different way than they normally do, To sum up here. It's a must see. I love it because it challenges me in a way a challenging film should. This is one of my personal favorite films.

• Anthony L

  
  Visually, I loved it. Every frame was like a painting, like theatre on film. The story, a little contrived. I get the whole heaven and hell thing, the restaurant being the universe and all, I just didn't like it. The acting was superb, Gambon playing the Devil was inspired, it?s… More
  Visually, I loved it. Every frame was like a painting, like theatre on film. The story, a little contrived. I get the whole heaven and hell thing, the restaurant being the universe and all, I just didn't like it. The acting was superb, Gambon playing the Devil was inspired, it?s just not that great to watch and ultimately, that's the point! I don't know, rating this one is hard, I'm a fan of Peter Greenaway but this isn't his best and nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is!

• Stella D

  
  a brutal gangster film with set design like northern rennaissance painting, costumes by gaultier and a wonderful score. great cast, especially michael gambon, who plays an absolute monster. tracing an explicit relationship between food, sex and death, it's not for the easily… More
  a brutal gangster film with set design like northern rennaissance painting, costumes by gaultier and a wonderful score. great cast, especially michael gambon, who plays an absolute monster. tracing an explicit relationship between food, sex and death, it's not for the easily offended. this was my first greenaway and it was extraordinary

• Lafe F

  
  Gruesome and offensive, set in a restaurant, enough to make one lose their appetite. A wealthy thief (Michael Gambon) plays a cruel boorish husband who delights in mentally torturing his wife (Helen Mirren). She has an affair with a librarian (Alen Howard). Chaos, murder and revenge… More
  Gruesome and offensive, set in a restaurant, enough to make one lose their appetite. A wealthy thief (Michael Gambon) plays a cruel boorish husband who delights in mentally torturing his wife (Helen Mirren). She has an affair with a librarian (Alen Howard). Chaos, murder and revenge ensue! It's an intelligent and interestingly shot film. Some of the scenes were intense. Very memorable characters and grotesque situations.

• A.D. V

  
  Visually stunning and deeply disturbing. It's a powerful, sometimes (blackly) funny, drama about love, hate and restaurants. For fans of David Lynch and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. And one of the best scores of all time by Michael Nyman. Do NOT bother seeing it unless its the widescreen… More
  Visually stunning and deeply disturbing. It's a powerful, sometimes (blackly) funny, drama about love, hate and restaurants. For fans of David Lynch and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. And one of the best scores of all time by Michael Nyman. Do NOT bother seeing it unless its the widescreen unrated cut. Anything else is crap!

• xGary X

  
  Another visual feast by Peter Greenaway, with some gorgeous painterly direction and use of colour, complimented by sumptous costume design, sex, violence and revenge. Again, some may find it painfully pretentious but it is unforgettably powerful and contains far more in the way of… More
  Another visual feast by Peter Greenaway, with some gorgeous painterly direction and use of colour, complimented by sumptous costume design, sex, violence and revenge. Again, some may find it painfully pretentious but it is unforgettably powerful and contains far more in the way of coherent narrative than many of his other films.

• Michael S

  
  Disturbing and beautiful.

• Robert C

  
  Bizzare, erotic, funny, sad, disturbing and visually stunning. Also the film in which I first fell in love with Helen Mirren.

• Alec B

  
  So marvelously theatrical in its execution this is one of the most original films I have ever seen. Its also one of the most disturbing. The acting, the writing, the directing, the production design, and the score all meld to create a wonderfully terrifying piece of art.

• Nicolas K

  
  Wonderful art direction on a cruel movie about revenge...

• William G

  
  Overly theatrical melodrama is admirable, but abrasive.

• Quinto W

  
  My only complaint is that the story is rather simple, but other than that, the film is absolutely perfect in every way. Michael Gambon gives a frightening and intense performance, very convincing, and the rest of the cast is equally game.

• Marcus W

  
  Well fuck me sideways with a fish fork, I wasn't expecting that. This film is something else. The plot is summed up in the title but its strength is in the visuals-reminiscent of early Jeunet, the sumptuous costumes by Gaultier and a storming performance by (Harry Potter fans… More
  Well fuck me sideways with a fish fork, I wasn't expecting that. This film is something else. The plot is summed up in the title but its strength is in the visuals-reminiscent of early Jeunet, the sumptuous costumes by Gaultier and a storming performance by (Harry Potter fans look away now) Michael Gambon as an utterly depraved, irredeemable and sick bastard with no morals and the charm of a dead pig. Grotesquely brilliant and fantastically hideous.

• Barry L

  
  Very weird film.

• Anthony V

  
  Be warned. This movie is EXCEPTIONALLY difficult to take, however, it does have it's rewards.

• Wu C

  
  Good movie, great payoff.

Read all 16 featured audience ratings