I promise you. That title will make a lot of sense once you actually see the movie. And it’s not the sausage Helen Mirren is smoking. That bitch is hardcore.
Welcome to The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, And Her Lover this loaded work comes from the mind of Peter Greenaway… who apparently has a lot on his mind when he makes a movie. Using what I’m guessing is one… maybe two actual setpieces, he’s able to create a very dark and depressing world. Come to think of it, we never saw daytime in the this movie.
Anywho, the movie focuses around… well A cook, a thief, his battered wife (Helen Mirren) and her lover.
Mirren, abused for much of the movie, decides to escape this reality by having an affair with a regular patron. This explodes into a frequent series of sex in very unusual places… and let’s just say they end up naked in the back of a meat truck fleeing for their lives… But I’m not going to spoil any more of the story.
On thing that can REALLY be noticed by anyone who’s into film is the lighting. The color of the rooms and clothing change depending on the actions that go on in that particular room. Or it could be a filter. I’m not sure. I’ll have to read up on that.
As you might have guess, the movie gets a nice hard NC-17… not just for Mirren’s ass (which is pretty nice I must say, being a male of the heterosexual persuasion) but for some gruesome moments that even made me a tad uncomfortable. And those moments never stop. They shoot at you rapid fire. A rape here, beating there. Eating your words (literally). The list goes on. There IS an R-rated cut. But that’s a fucking half hour shorter… so yeah. NC-17 is the way to go. Just know what you’re getting into.