The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover Movie Review

Helen Mirren's had enough of boorish husband/restaurateur Michael Gambon in this creepy and foul yet eminently watchable melodrama -- in fact, it remains Peter Greenaway's one and only great film. To be honest, it's his only good film at all, a shock considering its no more grotesque than some of his other work. The film's simple story has Mirren having an affair with a regular (Alan Howard) at hubby's restaurant -- at least until he catches wind of it (which is inevitable, since they never leave the restaurant to do the deed). I won't spoil what happens after that point, but the getting there (in which Greenaway concocts a color- and symbolism-feuled fantasy where costumes change as actors walk between rooms) is just as much fun.