Episode 112: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989)

I revisit Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, a film I first saw when I was about 17 and one I’ve never forgotten. It was rated R, so I couldn’t hire it myself, which only added to the feeling that I was watching something forbidden.

Back then, I was stunned by the sheer audacity of it. Watching it again 35 years later, I still love the outrageousness, but I now appreciate the extraordinary filmmaking behind it — the direction, production design, music and completely committed performances, particularly Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren.

For me, what makes it work is that nobody treats it as a shock movie. Everyone believes in it completely, and that elevates all the excess into something genuinely artistic.

A provocative, disturbing, beautiful and unforgettable film.