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124 minutes
UK/France (1989)
18
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THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER FILM REVIEW |
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Peter Greenaway directs Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard in this compelling tale of abuse, ego and cannibalism
Greenaway claimed that The Cook was himself - a voyeur watching other people eat and make love. The Thief (a tour-de-force performance by Gambon), is an unredeemable monster; His Wife (portrayed with sensuality and dignity by Mirren) is abused and humiliated by him, and Her Lover (a rare screen appearance by Howard) is a taciturn intellectual.
The film, set in an expensive restaurant, contains the same obsessions with power and submission, sexuality and bodily decay, reality and artifice, as Greenaway's previous films. It is weakest at the verbal level when Greenaway feels the need to underline everything that has already been made explicit visually.
It could satisfy different types of audiences - those who come for the lush decor and costumes (by Jean-Paul Gaultier), those who want the salacious elements and others wanting to see another pyrotechnical, but rather nasty, display from one of England's few auteurs.
Verdict
Quite possibly Greenaway's masterpiece. A heady mix of fine acting and detailed visuals.
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