History Film / TheCookTheThiefHisWifeAndHerLover

* BlackComedy: It is obviously a dark film but Albert is so deliciously hammy and certain lines are so clever that it can be surprisingly funny at times.

* HighClassCannibal: Played with. Spica is an ignorant oaf lacking in class, but he's an extremely wealthy gangster and fancies himself an intellectual (especially where food is concerned). Georgina falls in love with Michael, who has a genuine appreciation for books and culture. Spica kills Michael when he learns of their affair, but Georgina gets her revenge by cooking Michael's body and forcing Spica to eat some of it at gunpoint. This is portrayed as Laser-Guided Karma not only for Michael's murder and Spica's violence, but more in keeping with this trope, due to Spica's mistaken belief that money makes him classy or cultured and his bullying desire to rub it in everyone's faces.
* ImAHumanitarian: Albert will be a humanitarian whether he wants to be or not! The ending involves him being forced to eat Michael's cooked remains.

* KickTheDog: Albert does this for 2 hours straight as he constantly abuses helpless people around him, including his wife and at least one child. At one point, he even runs over a dog with his car.

* ToServeMan: [[spoiler:Georgina [[ForceFeeding forces Albert to eat Michael corpse]], which had been professionally roasted and prepared by Richard, at gunpoint.]]

* DeadBabyComedy: It is obviously a dark film but Albert is so deliciously hammy and certain lines are so clever that it can be surprisingly funny at times.

** When Georgina and Michael are smuggled out of the restaurant to Michael's book depository, Georgina asks what good all of the books do him; "You can't eat them." [[spoiler:Albert kills Michael by force feeding him pages from books.]]

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: The main characters have a very healthy sex life and are willing to do it anywhere. This is in contrast to the description we're given concerning sex with Albert which is terrifying and sadistic.

* BreakTheCutie: The TenorBoy not only gets a front row to many of Albert's violent tantrums, he turns his attention on to him at one point, forcing him to watch as he rapes his wife. Later, he turns his attention directly at the poor kid.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Happens to Michael and the TenorBoy. Michael receives it for his affair and the boy receives his in order to get information on Michael's whereabouts.

* DeadBabyComedy: It is obviously a dark film but Albert is so deliciously hammy and certain lines, such as the (previous) page quote, are so clever that it can be surprisingly funny at times.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: By the end of the film, all of Albert's goons (with the exception of Mitchel, who is equally as bad as Albert) have deserted him, either through being outright terrified of him or by being completely sickened at how sadistic he is. His torture of the Tenor Boy and brutal murder of Michael is the last straw for the very few who stay with him until the end.

* WouldHurtAChild: Albert once again. He tortures the TenorBoy for information later on.

English [[TheMafia mafia don]] Albert Spica is the owner of the high-class La Hollandais restaurant, of which Richard Borst is the head chef. Georgina is Albert's wife. Every night, Albert flies into rages and forces other patrons out of the restaurant, in addition to subjecting his enemies to sadistic tortures (such as rolling around in dog manure). This is to Georgina's chagrin. Georgina's eye eventually catches Michael, a shy bookshop owner who regularly dines at the restaurant. With the help of the restaurant staff, the two carry out a torrid affair, sneaking off to the kitchen or women's bathroom to have sex whenever they can. Unfortunately, Albert finds out, and his vengeance against Michael is slow and painful, but so is Georgina's against Albert when she finds out.

Notable for its sets; consisting solely of gray back-alley, green kitchen, red dining room, white women's bathroom and Richard's bookshop, in which the outfits of the characters change color to conform to; and for its X (and later, NC-17) rating in the US. Theories regarding the film's meaning are diverse; but the popular consensus seems to be that it is a metaphor for the oppression of the poor by the rich and by governments; with Richard representing the poor masses and Albert the oppressive upper class. More particularly, it is popularly regarded as criticism of the tax laws of UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher.

* ArtImitatesArt: The mural on the back wall of the dining room is "The Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Militia of Haarlem" (1616) by Frans Hals. It became the basis for Peter Greenaway's set decoration & costuming in the dining area.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Happens to Michael and the TenorBoy. Michael receives it for his affair and the boy receives his in order to get information on Michael's wherebouts.

* CrapsackWorld: Albert can publically brutalize people, including his own wife and customers at his restaurant, and there are [[ThereAreNoPolice no police officers to call]], apparently. The closest thing to authority we see are health inspectors.

** When Georgina and Michael are smuggled out of the restaurant to Michael's book depository, Georgina asks, what good all of the books do him; "You can't eat them." [[spoiler:Albert kills Michael by force feeding him pages from books.]]

* ImAHumanitarian: Albert will be a humanitarian whether he wants to be or not! The ending involves him being forced to eat Michael’s cooked remains.

* MaleFrontalNudity: Mostly Michael although Albert’s victim at the beginning gets stripped as well.

* NouveauRiche: Spica is a thug who, now that he's got money, thinks that he's a classy, cultured gentleman. He goes to his high-class restaurant every night and lectures his croneys on cuisine. In reality, he's just a violent oaf.

* WickedPretentious: Albert is a mafia boss that has taken control of the La Hollandais restaurant were he dines every day with his wife and crew. He fancies himself an intellectual and elite, ordering French food (while mispronouncing the words), musing about philosophy and shaming his group for using improper utensils. In reality, he is a gross, abusive, heartless man. He tortures and kills people he believes have crossed him (regardless of whether they actually did it or if it warranted the punishment), publicly brutalizes his wife and various patrons at the restaurant, harasses Michael for reading while at the dinner table, and this is just what we see on screen. He is so bad, that both the kitchen staff and his own men turn on him by the end of the film.
* WouldHitAGirl: Albert abuses Georgina mostly, but at one point, stabs a woman in the face with a fork.

* EvenEvilHasStandards:By the end of the film, all of Albert's goons (with the exception of Mitchel, who is equally as bad as Albert) have deserted him, either through being outright terrified of him or by being completely sickened at how sadistic he is. His torture of the Tenor Boy and brutal murder of Michael is the last straw for the very few who stay with him until the end.

* CoitusUninterruptus: Nothing short of the fear of death will stop Georgina and Michael from having sex.

* FanDisservice: Naked Helen Mirren and Alan Howard, covered in rotting meat.

* HairTriggerTemper: Albert.
* ImAHumanitarian: Albert will be a humanitarian whether he wants to be or not!
* InstantSeduction: Ooohhhhh yeah.

* KickTheDog: Albert does this for 2 hours straight. At one point, he runs over a dog with his car.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Albert ends up eating more than his words.

* MaleFrontalNudity: Mostly Michael.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Albert's views are very... colorful.

* YourCheatingHeart: But you can't really blame Georgina.

* EvenEvilHasStandards:By the end of the film, all of Albert's goons (With the exception of Mitchel, who is equally as bad as Albert) have deserted him, either through being outright terrified of him or by being completely sickened at how sadistic he is. His torture of the Tenor Boy and brutal murder of Michael is the last straw for the very few who stay with him until the end.

* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Happens in the ladies' restroom, a bookstore, an empty lot, and in the middle of the restaurant's kitchen [[NoBigDeal while surrounded by staff]].

->"''Try the cock, Albert. It's a delicacy. And you know where it's been.''"
-->--'''Georgina'''

* WholeReferencePlot: The film is based heavily on the 17th-century English play ''[='Tis=] Pity She's a Whore''.

* YourCheatingHeart: But you can't really blame Georgina.

{{Squick}}-laden, NauseaFuel-laden off-beat 1989 British drama/romance/comedy/arthouse film full of FoodPorn, SceneryPorn and gorgeous symbolism, directed by Peter Greenaway and starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Creator/HelenMirren and Alan Howard in the [=titular=] roles.

Notable for its sets; consisting solely of gray back-alley, green kitchen, red dining room, white women's bathroom and Richard's bookshop, in which the outfits of the characters change color to conform to; and for its X (and later, NC-17) rating in the US. Theories regarding the film's meaning are diverse; but the popular consensus seems to be that it is a metaphor for the oppression of the poor by the rich and by governments; with Richard representing the poor masses and Albert the oppressive upper class. More particularly, it is popularly regarded as criticism of the tax laws of MargaretThatcher.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Happens to Michael and the TenorBoy. Michael recieves it for his affair and the boy recieves his in order to get information on Michael's wherebouts.