The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

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Cast

Michael Gambon
as Albert Spica

Helen Mirren
as Georgina Spica

Richard Bohringer
as Richard

Alan Howard
as Michael

Tim Roth
as Mitchel

Ciarán Hinds
as Cory

Gary Olsen
as Spangler

Ewan Stewart
as Harris

Roger Ashton-Griffiths
as Turpin

Ron Cook
as Mews

Liz Smith
as Grace

Emer Gillespie
as Patricia

Hywel William Ellis

Janet Henfrey
as Alice

Arnie Breevelt
as Eden

Tony Alleff
as Troy

Russell Paul Batty
as Pup

Alex Kingston
as Adele

Ian Sears
as Phillipe

Willie Ross
as Roy

Ian Dury
as Terry Fitch

Diane Langton
as May Fitch

Prudence Oliver
as Corelle Fitch

Roger Lloyd-Pack
as Geoff

Bob Goody
as Starkie

Peter Rush
as Melter

Pauline Mayer
as Fish Girl

Ben Stoneham
as Meat Boy

Andy Wilson
as Diner #1

John Mullis
as Diner #2

Brenda Edwards
as Dancer

Sophie Goodchild
as Dancer

Alex Fraser
as Waiter

Michael Clark
as Waiter

Gary Logan
as Waiter

Tim Geary
as Waiter

Saffron Rainey
as Waiter

Hywel Williams Ellis
as Waiter

Michael Maguire
as Waiter

Patricia Walters
as Kitchen Staff Member

Sue Maund
as Kitchen Staff Member

Nick Brozovic
as Kitchen Staff Member

Karrie Pagano
as Kitchen Staff Member

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Critic Reviews for The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

Audience Reviews for The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

• Jan 05, 2016

  A gorgeous and stylized gem that will prove to be of hard digestion (yes, pun intended) for many viewers, but those with an open mind will find a lot more to it than "just" a magnificent score, cinematography, art direction and costume design (the game of colors is fantastic).
  Carlos M Super Reviewer
• Apr 15, 2014

  At first viewing of Peter Greenaway The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and her Lover I immediately realize that it's a powerful, visual film that uses each scene to really elevate the film's story. This is a blistering drama with some standout performances, and it's in the cast that makes for a truly engaging experience. The film tells a well constructed story that is fairly simple, but is engaging enough to be entertained for two hours. Michael Gambon delivers a performance that is intoxicating, and is a tremendous villain the film. The rest of the cast terrific as well and with that being said, each of them makes a truly unique contribution to Peter Greenaway's blistering and unforgettable tale. In terms of dramatic storytelling, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and her Lover tells a very good story, added with performances that really stand out, this is a very good film, but not one that is truly remarkable either. The cast make this film work and worth investing your time. Peter Greenaway's direction is dark and atmospheric and it adds so much to the film's story. The climax of the film is great as well, but like I said, it's not perfect, but for the most part, it works simply because of its cast that delivers some standout performances that truly bring out the best out of the film. I really enjoyed the film and I thought that despite a few flaws, this film is worth seeing, and if you enjoy a good story line matched with very good performance, then this film is a definite must watch for genre fans. I really enjoyed Greenaway's style and with that being said, he is able to take a simple idea, and make something truly elaborate in terms of cinematic vision. The film's biggest imperfection is the slow pacing the film, which may displease some, but to those that want a riveting drama, then The Cook, The Thief, his wife and her lover is a very good drama worth seeing despite its limitations.
  Alex r Super Reviewer
• Feb 15, 2014

  The Lover, the Cook, The Wife, The Thief  As seen immediately, in the film, The Cook, The Theif, The Wife & Her Lover takes great advantage of the use of color. The last film I can think of that uses color so overwhelmingly is Bergmans Cries and Whispers, where he drowns the audience with red. What I found stunning in this film was that the scenes were so beautiful while all taking place in-doors, in fact the only ugly scenes were the outdoor ones, which took barely any screen time.  This film features on of the greatest pricks in cinema history, Albert. Played by Michael Gambon, who absolutely blew me away. Albert surrounds himself with his arrogant sidekicks, but compared to him they're a set of nuns.  Peter Greenaway creates a true villain with Albert, one that no one can like or desire to imitate. Albert is a bully, rapist, and a misogynist, whose traits are greed & arrogance. Albert isn't just a smug rich man though, he definently has his deficiencies, which can be seen with his envy. There's a scene where Albert ruins one of his wives dishes as a practical joke, when he's done pouring wine on the expensive meal the camera cuts to showing the hard work of the chef and kitchen, which represents the destructive path Albert has.  The greatest scene of the film is when the affair begins in the restroom, and Albert comes in. Standing outside the stall the intensity reaches an all time high. It's interesting that Albert behaves at his worst in restrooms after this.  Greenaway has no taboos in this film, whether it's what's being discussed at the dinner table, which most people would never speak about... or what Albert does to others, which most people wouldn't even think about. Despite how disturbing this film is, there's solid black comedy, and even some light British humor. A moment that incoorporates the taboo and comedy elements is the gynecologist dinner table conversation.  The films idol is the chef. He makes Albert wait, while giving a beaten poor man immediate attention. He's also the only character to bring smart philosophy to the table, unlike Albert who just spits gibberish. Before cooking his shock of a dish, the chef speaks about the most expensive food: "black food". He's a hard worker yet speaks as if he's been still as Rodins "The Thinker". I fell in love with the cast: Bohringer, Hellen Miren, Tim Roth, Alan Howard, and Gambon all bring something unique to this movie. The whole cast comes together at the conclusion to bring the single greatest revenge scene, that even Tarantino (Kill Bill, Django Unchained) & Chan-Wook Park (Oldboy, Lady Vegenence) couldn't think of. Fascinating cinematic masterpiece. 
  

  Daniel D Super Reviewer
• Sep 04, 2013

  Bold and elegant, though too extreme for my taste. It's really marvelous how the distasteful subject of cannibalism can be masked so well with gastronomy. First of all, I love the lighting and costumes, and how the colour of the costume changes as the lighting changes. The set design was extraorinary, it's so beautiful and lavishing, so well profuse and placed. The characters annoyed me greatly, I know that it's not meant to be convincing but as symbols, it still irritated me. The only thing I really dislike about the film was the stupid singing, it pissed me off several times that I wanted to smash the actor. Other than that, it's a great film for mature audience.
  

  Sylvester K Super Reviewer

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