The cook, the thief, his wife & her lover

The cook the thief the wife the lover was directed by Peter Greenaway and published on 1989. It is a British – French romantic dark comedy crime. This Movie is uncomfortable to watch however the romance in the movie is beautifully performed. The movie won a Felix award for the best actress and got nominated; best director, best supporting actor, Best original score, best costume design, (cinematography and best original soundtrack in Catalonian international film festival) and many more awards.
This movie is all about is a definition of “sow what you reap.” Starting with Albert Spica (played by Michael Gambon) who obtains one of the finest French restaurants in London, every scene is shown nightly in the restaurant. Georgina his wife (played by Helen Mirren) is involved with domestic abuse their relationship. His wife begins an affair with Michael (played by Howard) who treats her well as they try not to get caught by her most violent husband Albert.

Firstly, the costumes were well designed and carefully thought of. In every scene, there is a theme of anger, hate, violence or love. Not only did the acting style show the emotion in the atmosphere in the scene, however, the costumes made the mood of the scene powerful and understanding. We get introduced to Georgina who gets harassed by her husband in public, during this scene she wore a grey dress with a black furred coat until she met Michael in the bathroom. When she walked out of the bathroom she wore a red dress which represented her affection for Michael (red a connotation of love or lust). Throughout the movie, she wore red even in the ending which had a different connotation (for violence and danger).

The whole film was “Shot entirely on Elstree’s stage six. From the astonishing studio sets and (Gaultier-designed) costumes to Gambon’s performance (so ferociously wicked that it beggars description), Greenaway attacks his targets with a sadistic obsession that is, frankly, terrifying.” (Mount, 2000) Just as Mount described Albert’s victims were brutally wounded and as the movie gradually progresses we see Michael drenched with his own blood and roasted. The make-up artist (Sara Meerman) made this look realistic which made the audience feel uncomfortable to watch. The fact that all of this was performed on a stage made the audience felt like they were watching in a theatre. The awkward silence during the movie was intelligently done during sex scenes or violent scenes. This was Peter Greenaway’s idea of absorbing the audience into awkwardness as it is something we are not comfortable to watch. Acting on stage gives a reminder to the audience that what they are seeing is not real but all an act.

“This No-Mercy Assault On The mind and senses from British writer-director Peter Greenaway (The Draughtsman's Contract) boasts a full menu: swearing, screwing, stealing, cooking, eating, drinking, burping, choking, vomiting, defecating, punching, kicking and killing. Oh, yes, there's a guy who enjoys reading, but he comes to a bad end.” (Travers, 1990) All this “full menu” was shown by the use of lighting. For example, in Fig.3 (the end of the movie) red lighting was used as a ground-lighting which created a ghostly effect as Georgina gets her revenge. Purple lighting was used in the background, the lighting nicely fades out in the middle showing a contrast between red and black (a connotation of blood and death foreshadowing what will happen).
The camera angles used were close-ups (for facial expressions) and long shots to represent the stage they are acting on, making the audience feel like they are in a theatre.

The acting was beautifully performed and believable. Some of the acting Albert performed were sometimes dramatic and exaggerated. Greenaway intelligently made Albert say more lines to represent him as the dominant character, he also made sure all characters do not speak until they met Albert face to face. For example, Georgina’s lover never spoke until he was spoken to by her husband. Michael said himself “so…he has broken the silence for us.” “The actors in this movie exhibit a rare degree of courage. They are asked to do things that few human beings would have the nerve or the stomach for, and they do them because they believe in the power of the statement being made.” (Ebert, 1999) Agreeing with Ebert, the actors playing ‘Georgina’ and ‘Michael’ took their roles seriously and became naked in every scene they were in to convey the love they had convincingly. The audience that will take an oppositional reading of this will be offended by how Peter has exposed things people ignore in details.
In conclusion, lighting and costume designs were thought of carefully in every scene to fit the theme Pete Greenaway was trying to convey to the audience. The acting on stage made the viewers relate to a theatrical experience and gave the audience a reminder that everything is an act.



Bibliography:

Ebert, P (1999) -  The cook, the thief, his wife & her lover at: https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/do-you-know-anything-about-witches-suspiria-at-40 [Accessed: 19/12/2017]

Mount, J (2000) - The cook, the thief, his wife & her lover Review at: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/cook-thief-wife-lover/review/ [Accessed: 19/12/2017]

Travers, P (1990) - The cook, the thief, his wife & her lover at: https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-and-her-lover-19900406 [Accessed: 19/12/2017]



Illustration:

Fig.1 – The cook the thief the wife the lover – Film Poster (1977)

Fig.2 – The cook the thief the wife the lover – Still Image (1977)

Fig.3 – The cook the thief the wife the lover – Gif Image (1977)

Fig.4 – The cook the thief the wife the lover – Still Image (1977)