THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, AND HER LOVER (1989) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Writer/Director: Peter Greenaway Starring: Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard, Tim Roth, Liz Smith, Paul Russell, Ciarán Hinds, Gary Olsen, Ewan Stewart, Alex Kingston
Every night at "Le Hollandais" restaurant, the owner, Albert Spica (Michael Gambon), shows up with all his friends, and eats all he can, while talking loudly, and making a general rucous. Instead of being a dedicated, peaceful owner, Albert is actually a vile gangster who has recently bought out the restaurant from its head cook, Richard (Richard Bohringer), who nevertheless still works there. Every single evening, Albert annoys everyone he can, showing off his power and richness, and every single evening, Richard holds back his disgust at him with a blank expression, and replies of "Yes, Mr. Spica...right away, Mr. Spica."
But one night, Albert's bored and beautiful wife, Georgina (Helen Mirren), glances across the restaurant at one of its many customers, Michael (Alan Howard), and soon the two begin to flirt across the room. After he accidentally walks into the women's bathroom where she is, the two begin a silent affair, lasting over the course of the film as they have passionate, quiet sex in every nook and cranny of the restaurant...and with the aid of Richard, who allows them entrance into little hiding places where they can continue their tryst.
So begins the fable-like story writer/director Peter Greenaway has brought us. "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover" is a lavishly directed film, filled with gorgeous production design, wild costumes, and scenes of such depravity and disgustingness that even John Waters would be shocked. It's a film which has the balls to do a scene where Albert beats a broke man who owes him money by stuffing shit down his mouth, and the intelligence to back it up with a purpose.
For the first hour, the film gets into a kind of routine: Albert and his goons (including one played by a pre-"Reservoir Dogs" Tim Roth) arrive, eat while talking annoyingly, and somewhere in there, both Georgina and Michael get up simultaneoulsy from their respective tables, and head into a hiding place to screw around, with some variation in there. But the second hour, as with most films which get into routines in the first hour, changes everything. After Albert finds out about them from one of the goon's mistresses, the two lovers flee to his place, a book depository where he works, and after awhile, Albert finds him, and brutally kills him.
I will not reveal the ending, primarily because it's such a great ending, truly one of the greatest endings to a film I've ever seen. But I will say this: it's definitely delicious (hee hee), and it's bound to have the audience leaving with a big smile in their face...unless they're completely grossed out.
There are hundreds of great things about this film, but sone of them are the direction by Peter Greenaway, and production design by Ben Van Os and Jan Roelfs, music by Michael Nymann, and costumes by the god-like Jean-Paul Gaultier, all which contribute into a film which is one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen. The film is incredibly lavish, and the restaurant, where most of the film takes place, is one of the most incredible sights on celluloid. Outside, there is blue fog and lime lights; in the kitchen, the color is green, and seems to be a giant warehouse, with a pan shot of it lasting forever; the actual dining room is an ominous crimson red (which gets more crimson as the film goes on); and the bathroom is bright white, so white that when the door opens from the inside, it looks like hell is creeping in. This is probably the most gorgeous-looking film in the past decade.
Not only that, but every primary actor deserves individual praise. Richard Bohringer, a staple of French cinema, is perfect at portraying a man who hides his emotions and hatred for Albert under a plastic facade, creating the perfect look of a pot ready to boil over. Michael Gambon is perfect as the obese, horrific Albert, being able to pronouce every line of his dialogue realistically and with style. Helen Mirren portrays the bored Georgina as a woman who's been hollowed out by her marriage to Albert, and later shows a touching emotion when she finds out she's really in love with Michael (one scene has her talking to him when he's not there - I almost cried). And Alan Howard, who doesn't even speak until about 50 minutes into the film, is wonderful, playing a man who hints at everything with facial expressions, and is the exact opposite of Albert. Tim Roth, in a supporting role, is pretty awesome too.
I've read that this film is a film about the connection between food and sex. I've also read that it's nothing but a wild tale, not really deserving of the title of "art." These are both wrong in their own respects. "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover" is actually a condemnation of gluttony, not so much as in respect to eating, but in respect to all kinds of excessiveness. The film is not a contemporary "Last Tango in Paris," showing a pair of lovers trying to escape through casual sex. It's not even really about the affair of Georgina and Michael. It's about Albert, a man who's so polluted to the core that he's blind to his own selfishness and worldly gluttony.
Albert struts around his restaurant like a king, messing around with people who are merely trying to eat good food, and talks about changing Richard's restaurant into a place filled with every excess imaginable. Not to mention, he rants on about every subject imaginable, making crude jokes at others' expenses, and generally speaking way too much on things he knows little or nothing about. In fact, Albert has most of the lines in the film (notice how the film sometimes cuts to other people and places when he speaks?). Greenaway is trying to point out that this kind of excessiveness is pure evil, and that anyone who acts remotely like this deserves the sweet justice he receives, like Albert does in the finale (no specifics, I promise). While the stories of the other three protagonists are emotional and intriguing in their own respects, they are merely acting out as people who have been harmed by Albert's selfish gluttony.
What puts the cherry on the top of this film is the way the film feels during and after viewing it. "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover" is a film that lingers in the memory long after, with scenes and moments stuck in your head. I will never forget the look of the restuarant, the way it's so vast and always filled with life. I can never get the images of Georgina and Michael making love without talking, and the love they share for eachother in the second half after the silence has been broken between them. And the ending is so incredible that it will hold up to any film where a character gets his just desserts as a perfect example of how to do it right and proper.
"The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover" is a film I will never get over seeing. It may be disgusting, vile, and even excessive, but it's a film that will haunt you and never let you forget its message and wild imagery.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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