NetFlix Movie Reviews: The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover

Sure this movie's from 1989, but I never saw it. Now through the beauty of NetFlix, movies I haven't seen surprise me on a weekly basis (they surprise me because my wife handles the queue -- I have no idea what's coming). So we settled in to watch The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover this week.

Almost the entire movie is set in a restaurant owned by a thuggish criminal, and as owner of the restaurant he dines there nightly in the coarsest manner possible with his drunken entourage generally looking indifferent if not downright bored. His wife, played remarkably by Helen Mirren, begins an affair with another restaurant patron, Michael, who brings stacks of books to his table and dines alone. They carry on their affair in the restaurant -- first in the bathroom stalls and then in the kitchen with assistance from the chef and for several encounters neither speaks to the other. Eventually of course the oafish husband catches on and in brutal manner first uncovers the lovers' whereabouts and then murders Michael.

So as not to spoil the entire movie for those who haven't seen it, all I'll say about the finale is that the title Thief gets his just desserts.

But enough of the plot. The set design alone would justify watching this movie. The restaurant is stylized, with an immense kitchen that looks as if it's an entire factory floor. The camera pans in cross-section style from the back alley entrance, through the kitchen, through a narrow hallway, and into the dining room, visually dividing the world of the movie between surface coarseness and invisible depth.

In addition to the physical walls dividing the spaces of the restaurant, the movie utilizes a color scheme that places each area in stark contrast. The dining room is a deep red, while the bathroom is pure white. The kitchen is nearly always green, although certain parts are yellow. Helen Mirren's attire often changes color as she moves from room to room. Visually, the movie is very beautiful.

Despite the aesthetically pleasing visuals, the movie in the end conveys a pessimistic worldview. The Thief, Albert, quite obviously is top dog who does what he wants and how he wants: he physically and emotionally humiliates those who stand in the way of his goals, and he is not called to account until the end of the movie. His wife, Georgina, is more of a possession to him than a wife, and her description of their intimate life is harrowing. Her lover, Michael, is a meek book collector -- the sensitive, arty type -- whose sensibilities stand no chance against the rage of Alpha Male Albert. As for the Cook, he is complicit both in the front he provides for the Thief and the front he provides for the two lovers. He relies on the Thief's patronage for his livelihood, but he detests his patron.