The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1990)

What makes this movie so great is that it is real and original.Everyone who produced this movie tried to express his creativity,his passion for art,his love for cinema!This movie wasn't made in order to receive a gold statuette by the academy such as many movies these days!

The title gives the idea of the story. It's the story of a Cook, A Thief, his Wife and a Lover she finds in the restaurant.The movie is set like a play. The lighting, costumes, performance, color pattern etc, all resemble to a stage. Contrasting colors are very thematic.Most of the movie takes place in a French Restaurant. A cruel thief and his friends along with his wife dine regularly in this restaurant. The wife meets an interesting personality in the restaurant and falls for him. They are trying to make love everyday under the nose of her husband, that she finds the most safest place.The movie can be described "crazy"; but it is a must watch for all cine files. Director Peter Greenaway is famous for his movies resembling to the stage play. The climax is so amazing, that it will take a new dimension to the revenge. Not spoiling too much. Enjoy this amazing dish.

This movie is unlike anything else out there . That's what makes it great. Not suitable for sensitive individuals. The ending is predictable however. Although it fits in with the story it is perhaps the weakest part of the film. I have watched this movie several times and each viewing is a treat.There is some graphic violence which is not gratuitous (also true of the sex scenes) but is far too graphic for my taste (referring to the violence). Again, however , it does fit in with the general feeling of the movie. Fortunately, it takes up only one short part of the film. Helen Mirren is great as ever even though this was close to the beginning of her career. Every actor stretches his/her acting skills to produce an amazing picture. It is a very, very, dark humour and may not be suitable for everybody.

I have a problem with art-house films like THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE & HER LOVER and it's that the directors of such fare are often totally ignorant when it comes to decent film-making. Sure, they obsess over designer costumes and make-up, and they focus intently on the colour palette of their movies, but when it comes to movie-making staples like pace, character, dialogue, and intrigue, they fail.Peter Greenaway is such a director. This controversial 1989 opus is known for its gruesome scenes of cannibalism, yet take away the controversy and there's absolutely nothing here to rate this. The running time is as slow as a snail, and much of it is made up of scenes of the repulsive Michael Gambon character berating his wife and associates.Greenaway's a better director than he is a writer, because the script is terrible. We get the gist of Gambon's character and the situation with his wife in the first ten minutes, yet two hours of non-action go by in which we're bludgeoned over the head with his sheer monotonous brutish nature. The whole film takes place on a cheap-looking set that quickly becomes boring, Helen Mirren spends most of the running time naked and forgets how to act, and luminaries such as Tim Roth and Ciaran Hinds are wasted.Yes, there are a few shocking scenes, yet cannibalism is dealt with in a much more entertaining fashion in both B-movie fare (such as Pete Walker's 1974 FRIGHTMARE) and Hollywood flicks (like RAVENOUS). I'm not against arty films where nothing happens, but there has to be substance to go with the style; Nic Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW is a case in point: one of my favourite films of all time, but hardly action-packed. THE COOK... just wastes a great deal of potential and proves to be another case of The Emperor's New Clothes.