In Praise of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) [Incl. 33, Mirrors & Synchronicities]

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a fantastic film and, in my opinion, it’s Peter Greenaway’s magnum opus. I’ve put together a short video praising this film. I call it short as I could have spoken for hours but would rather encourage you to go see the film instead of listening to me waffle on.
Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon are extremely dominant here, with Alan Howard and Richard Bohringer playing the more subdued, but still nonetheless exquisite roles in this production. The film combines so many different artistic mediums together to produce something which can only be described as “cinema”.
I discuss a few examples of this and along the way I fall down a rabbit hole involving hidden symbolism, God-tier Hollywood dating stories, the good ol' days, and a harebrained scheme for how to become a filmmaker myself.
I hope you all enjoy!
Follow me on Twitter: / criticalaussie
#PeterGreenaway #TheCookTheThiefHisWife&HerLover #filmreview

[@TheAussieCritic]

I must apologise to all Nolanites. I forgot to mention his film, “Inception”, on my list of movies with moving mirrors and only recalled it after exporting the video. Please don’t burn down my house. I like his work!
Secondly, I was hard pressed to find quality clips of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, so you’ll have to extend grace over the rather shoddy visuals at times. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy!

[@Oldag75]

This is a stupendous black-comedy film, with exemplary scenery, characters and situations. Appreciating this sort of movie requires an open mind, a keen eye, and a (somewhat sick) sense of humor.
The brutality of the opening scene introduced the ghastly Albert. This character -- actually actor Michael Gambon -- DOMINATED every instance in which he appeared. Gambon appeared to luxuriate in being a horrible guy... I sincerely hope he had fun doing it. The plodding music took viewers from left to right across the settings, into the kitchen and then the restaurant, it was terrific. Helen Mirren initially balked at (due to her age) the nude scenes -- and then delivered with dignified sexuality. The gangsters, Cory and Mitchell and Spangler, were idiots. Richard the cook was a great catalyst, and Michael the lover (Alan Howard) simply got mixed up with the wrong woman/people.
The Painting: The first time Albert's troop enters the main restaurant, The Painting SHOCKS in the background, a giant picture of all those guys looking at you! What a magnificent artistic touch.
P.S. We got to see Dr. Corday from the TV series "ER" in one of her early roles -- Alex Kingston. Her face never distinctly appeared, but her exemplary presentation and posture were unmistakable.

[@TheAussieCritic]

Thanks for watching and writing such a detailed comment!

[@AppointmentWithJase]

Great review! Thanks for shedding light on some of the details of one of my favorite films 👍🏼👍🏼 the soundtrack alone is worth a watch…cheers…

[@TheAussieCritic]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@TailsDollIncorporeider]

I watched this film for uni. This video helped me a lot.
You're very funny, man.great stuff @

[@TheAussieCritic]

Thanks mate! Glad you liked it.

[@thomasgambroadamsson3650]

I look this film up once in a while, to watch a brilliant scene or to find out what someone else has to say about it. I enjoyed the video.

[@TheAussieCritic]

Glad you enjoyed it!