The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

CrimeDrama

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

"Lust...Murder...Dessert. Bon Appetit!"

User Score694 votes

73%7.3/10

Release1989→

Runtime2H 4M

LanguageEnglish

StatusReleased

Synopsis

When churlish mobster Albert Spica acquires an upscale French restaurant in London, he dines there nightly, effectively scaring off the clientele with his bad manners. His wife, Georgina, is especially disgusted by him, and soon begins an affair with regular guest Michael. Despite their best efforts to keep it secret, Spica learns about their trysts, and he plots a terrible revenge.

Principal Cast8

Michael Gambon

Albert Spica

Richard Bohringer

Richard Boarst

Helen Mirren

Georgina Spica

Alan Howard

Michael

Tim Roth

Mitchel

Ciarán Hinds

Cory

Liz Smith

Grace

Gary Olsen

Spangler

Full Cast & Crew (67)

Media38

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Posters

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Director

Peter Greenaway

Director →

Trailer

Box Office

Budget$2M

Revenue$8M

Certification

NC-17

Keywords

sadismsexualityallegorycookingrestaurantcrime bosssatiresurrealismsociopathmurderbrutalityavant-gardepublic humiliationstray dogabusive husbandfrench cuisineadulterous wifecannibalismviolence

External Links

IMDb

Reviews1

talisencrw9/10

Having previously watched Greenaway's 'Prospero's Books', basically from the same era, one definitely gets a sense of the auteur, of great visualizing prowess in the Welsh native. I adore watching Helen Mirren from ANY era, but particularly here, in between the young adulthood beauty she displayed in Michael Powell's 'Age of Consent', through the remarkably absurd and audacious 'Caligula', straight to the sophisticated and very dangerous gorgeousness displayed in 'The Comfort of Strangers'. It's great to see any dude who's mean to a beautiful woman get their comeuppance (particularly the wealthy--it offers a sort of 'wish fulfillment' for the 99% of us), and the climax here is one of cinema's most articulate presentation of that phenomenon. It definitely made me wish to see the rest of both Greenaway's movies and of Mirren's performances. Well worth the acquired taste necessary for this sort of delicacy.

May 2, 2016