The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
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A sophisticated woman embarks on a doomed affair with a bookshop owner while her gangster husband exerts a violent, destructive influence over a high-class restaurant.
The story
English gangster Albert Spica has taken over the high-class Le Hollandais restaurant managed by French chef Richard Boarst. Spica makes nightly appearances at the restaurant with his retinue of thugs. His oafish behaviour causes frequent confrontations with the staff and other diners, whose patronage he loses but whose money he seems not to miss. Forced to accompany Spica is his reluctant yet elegant wife, Georgina, who soon catches the eye of a quiet regular at the restaurant: bookshop owner Michael. Under her husband's nose, with the help of the restaurant staff, Georgina carries on an affair with Michael.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
English gangster Albert Spica has taken over the high-class Le Hollandais restaurant managed by French chef Richard Boarst. Spica makes nightly appearances at the restaurant with his retinue of thugs. His oafish behaviour causes frequent confrontations with the staff and other diners, whose patronage he loses but whose money he seems not to miss. Forced to accompany Spica is his reluctant yet elegant wife, Georgina, who soon catches the eye of a quiet regular at the restaurant: bookshop owner Michael. Under her husband's nose, with the help of the restaurant staff, Georgina carries on an affair with Michael. Spica soon learns of the affair, forcing Georgina and Michael to hide at the book depository where Michael works a side job. Borst sends food to them through Pup, a boy soprano who sings while working. Spica tortures Pup before finding the book depository's location written in a book the boy is carrying. Spica's men raid the book depository while Georgina is visiting Pup in the hospital; they torture Michael to death by force-feeding him pages from his books. Georgina discovers his body when she returns. Overcome with rage and grief, Georgina begs Boarst to cook Michael's body, and he eventually complies after Georgina clarifies it is for Spica. At the restaurant, a false invitation was sent to Spica. Together with all the people that Spica wronged throughout the film, Georgina confronts her husband, revealing a whole roast of Michael. Spica retaliates with a pistol but is disarmed immediately. Georgina forces him at gunpoint to eat a mouthful of Michael's cooked body. Spica obeys, gagging. Georgina then shoots him in the head, calling him a cannibal.
- First release year
- 1989
- Runtime (minutes)
- 124
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Greenaway
- Writers
- Peter Greenaway · writer; Peter Greenaway · director
- Cast and characters
- Richard Bohringer · Richard Boarst, "The Cook"; Michael Gambon · Albert Spica, "The Thief"; Helen Mirren · Georgina Spica, "His Wife"; Alan Howard · Michael, "Her Lover"; Tim Roth · Mitchel; Ciarán Hinds · Cory; Gary Olsen · Spangler; Ewan Stewart · Harris
- Genres
- crime drama; art film
- Themes
- Adultery; Cannibalism; Domestic Violence; Psychopathy; Violence against women
- Tone and mood
- Audacious; Powerful; Graphic; Formalist
- Premise and plot tags
- Crime; Drama; Art Film; Romantic Drama; Independent Film
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Jacobean play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore
- Content notes
- Graphic violence; Nude scenes
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with a consensus describing it as an audacious and powerful film. Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars, noting its raw emotion and violent interpersonal conflict.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 87% · review count: 52; Metacritic · score: 62 · review count: 23
- Production trivia
- The film's music prominently incorporated Michael Nyman's 1985 composition Memorial.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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