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The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

1989 · 124 min

This is a visually rich and highly stylized descent into decadent excess and brutal retribution.

Tagline
Lust...Murder...Dessert. Bon Appetit!
Overview
When churlish mobster Albert Spica acquires an upscale French restaurant in London, he dines there nightly, effectively scaring off the clientele with his bad manners. His wife, Georgina, is especially disgusted by him, and soon begins an affair with regular guest Michael. Despite their best efforts to keep it secret, Spica learns about their trysts, and he plots a terrible revenge.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • revenge
  • power
  • class
  • betrayal
  • violence
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language strong
  • Violence strong
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror6.5
Humour1
Realism4
Romance3
Tension9
Darkness9.5
Complexity9
Emotional weight8.5

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
crime, drama
Directed by
Peter Greenaway
Written by
Peter Greenaway
Starring
Michael Gambon, Richard Bohringer, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard, Tim Roth, Ciarán Hinds, Liz Smith, Gary Olsen
Music
Michael Nyman
Cinematography
Sacha Vierny
Runtime
124 min
Country
France, United Kingdom, Netherlands
Languages
English

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