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The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

1989

Peter Greenaway

Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard ...

7.0

6,840

Drama. Comedy One of the most controversial films of all time, the title of this Jacobean revenge-tragedy, set in an upscale French restaurant, says it all. The restaurant is visited nightly by the sadistic Thief (a ferocious Gambon). His battered Wife (Mirren in a heartbreaking performance) seeks solace in her secret Lover whom she meets one evening while dining. The sympathetic Cook rounds out the cast. A surreal theatre piece combining moments of ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times	"This isn't a freak show; it's a deliberate and thoughtful film in which the characters are believable and we care about them (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	James Berardinelli ReelViews	"This film, a wildly exuberant, bitingly satirical examination of excess, bad taste, and great acting, is the kind of over-the-top experience that will have timid movie-goers running (not just walking) for the exits."	POS
United States	Caryn James The New York Times	"A work so intelligent and powerful that it evokes our best emotions and least civil impulses, so esthetically brilliant that it expands the boundaries of film itself."	POS
United States	Gene Siskel Chicago Reader	"A bold, strident, purposefully aggressive film that portrays an adult version of the same decadent world that Stanley Kubrick presented on film in 'A Clockwork Orange'."	POS
United States	Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times	"'Cook' is full of gross behavior and jolting images, but its effect is not engaging, and since the film is only occasionally amusing, it is not even cathartic"	NEU
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"At best, Greenaway’s film is a provocative and diabolically funny foray into the roots of passion and cruelty"	POS
United States	Variety Staff Variety	"Peter Greenaway's grim sense of humor and cheerful assault on all our sacred cows is evident in this new outing from the iconoclastic filmmaker."	POS
United States	Desson Howe The Washington Post	"'The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover,' treats the ugliest content imaginable in the most beautiful way possible (...) the most accomplished, astounding film of the year."	POS

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