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Actors: Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover |
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Murder, betrayal, lust, food, sex... perfection
--Shekfester, Resident Scholar
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This is arresting British writer-director Peter Greenaway's 1989 masterpiece. It takes place almost entirely in an elegant restaurant, with elaborate meals, gorgeous decor, excellent service ... and adultery, murder, and cannibalism. The bored wife of a barbarous crime boss decides to take a gentle bookseller as her lover, and her husband brutally retaliates. But she gets her gruesome revenge on him in the end. Helen Mirren, the thinking man's sex symbol, has never been sexier (the adulterous encounter in the spacious white restroom is incredibly erotic!). Greenaway sets this ghastly tale in sumptuous sets, with a use of color that is to die for -- if you'll pardon the expression. Tim Roth and Ciaran Hinds may be glimpsed among the supporting cast. Definitely sui generis.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
- seduction (yum!)
- inconveniently married while playing footsy
Taboo Sex Story?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- homemaker/wife
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- emotionally unstable
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Body type
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
Unclothed?
- Chest and Buttocks
- Full Frontal
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
- irritated
- happy
- sad
- tougher
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- blonde
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average build
Unclothed?
- buttocks and chest
- full frontal
How much in movie?
- 40%
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- thief/con artist
- criminal
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
- obsessed
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
- 90%-100%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) fat
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
- very explicit references to deaths and torture
Movie makes you feel...
- challenged
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- touching of personal anatomy
- licking
- actual description of sex
- seeing breasts
- seeing nude female butt
- seeing nude male butt
- seeing full frontal--women
- seeing full frontal--men
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
Subtitles?
- No
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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