The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover: A Review

Fig 1. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover Poster, 1989

In this review, I shall be looking at "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover" (Greenaway, 1989). This film is a strange and surreal drama, focusing on the restaurant "Le Hollandais", a very high-class restaurant owned by the very low-class Albert Spica (Michael Gambon). On one particular visit to the restaurant, his wife, Georgina (Helen Mirren), starts having an affair with one of the regular patrons, Michael (Alan Howard), a man the complete opposite of her husband. This affair continues within the restaurant, in the toilets and kitchen, and out of the restaurant, at Michael's bookstore. Real feelings between the two of them begin to develop, putting both their lives at risk.

Fig 2. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

"Color has been used by Greenaway [...] to also neutralize environments to create focus for the characters and also add a surreal quality to the scene"

-asmarchitecture, 2010

The cinematography of this film is created and presented masterfully. In every shot there is always one predominant, striking colour - Green in the Kitchen, Red in the Dining Area, and White in the Bathrooms/Toilets. Each of these colours play a significant role to the area they are assigned to - Red for the lust that Georgina and Michael first experience and hint at whilst sitting tables apart in the restaurant, White being used to signify what should be the purity & sanctity of the different bathrooms, and Green for the jealousy that Albert experiences when he finds out of the affair. The character's costumes change to match these colours, apart from Michael's, showing that he is the one constant Georgina has in this world of turmoil she is in.

Fig 3. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, 1989

This use of changing colour also portrays the change within the characters themselves, and what their fate will ultimately be;

"In the film, all characters that do not change die; those who adapt survive… Michael, whose habits and dress had been most regular, also dies. He had worn the same suit every evening, and this consistency distinguishes him from other characters that undergo a series of costume changes even within the same scene. In the long and complicated opening sequence, Georgina’s dress appears black to Albert although she calls it dark blue; it is green in the kitchen, red in the dining room, and white in the bathroom. Michael always wore brown. Even when he is naked, his skin has a light brown hue, in the raw and in the cooked state… Richard the cook undergoes a transformation, too, from passive observer to active participant. His black tuxedo not only marks the final scene as ceremonial but also identifies the theme of change as momentous for the entire film. This is the first time that he wears anything other than chef’s white."

- Winkler, 2001

It is obvious from this that the use of colour, and them changing, was of utmost importance when creating this film. It allows for a much deeper, more subliminal message to be portrayed on the screen, whilst still focussing the audience on the action and characters within the scene.

Fig 4. (Nyman, 1989)

The music that plays during the film adds to the brashness and vulgarity of certain scenes. The "main" song that was used is "Memorial", by Michael Nyman, originally recorded in 1984 but first commercially available on the soundtrack of this film.. The stabbing strings and high-pitched wails, accompanied by the bassier undertones really compliment what is happening on screen. "Memorial" greatly affected Greenaway, who decided to model parts of the film on the composition, and actually directed/choreographed the final sequence around the 5th movement of the piece, where the song has ramped up the harshness to the ears.

Bibliography

• Winkler, M. (2001) Classical myth & culture in the cinema. Retrieved: January 4th 2017
• asmarchitechture (2010) The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover – Use of Color as a metaphor for transformation [online blog] At: https://asmarchitecture.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-and-her-lover-use-of-color-as-a-metaphor-for-transformation/ (Accessed on 04.01.2017)

Illustration & Music List

• Figure 1. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) [Poster] At: http://cdn.miramax.com/media/assets/The-Cook-The-Thief-His-Wife-and-Her-Lover1.png (Acessed on 04.01.2017)
• Figure 2. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) From: The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Allarts. Directed by: Peter Greenaway. [Film Still] Great Britain: Allarts (Accessed on 04.01.2017)
• Figure 3. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) From: The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Allarts. Directed by: Peter Greenaway. [Film Still] Great Britain: Allarts (Accessed on 04.01.2017)
• Figure 4. Nyman, Michael (1989) Memorial In: The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover: Soundtrack London: (Publisher Unknown)