Plot Summary

Grotesque, brutal, and operatic in tone, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover unfolds almost entirely within the confines of an extravagant French restaurant, a setting that becomes a theatrical arena for power, cruelty, and forbidden desire.

Albert (Michael Gambon), a violent and vulgar crime lord, dominates the restaurant each night with his gang, turning lavish dinners into displays of intimidation and excess. His wife Georgina (Helen Mirren), humiliated and emotionally imprisoned by Albert’s sadism, gradually finds refuge in a secret affair with Michael, a quiet and intellectual regular diner.

The restaurant’s cook Richard (Richard Bohringer), aware of the affair, becomes an unwilling accomplice, allowing the lovers to hide among kitchens, pantries, and cold storage rooms. As Georgina’s relationship with Michael deepens, the restaurant transforms from a place of indulgence into a surreal battleground where art, violence, and sexuality collide.

Driven by painterly visuals, symbolic color schemes, and a haunting score, the film builds toward a shocking act of retribution. What begins as an illicit romance ultimately becomes a savage meditation on power, consumption, revenge, and moral decay.