"The French Revolution is easier to swallow than Nepoleon"

 

 

 The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover

This lavishly offensive film is such a hard pill to swallow. The genre clash of Romance, crime and Horror made it an intense 2 hours and 4 minutes. The costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier really played with the setting of this film where Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) is dressed in late 19^th Century clothing reminiscing of George VI, Georgina Spica (Helen Mirren) along with her lover  appear to have been lifted from the 1940’s . For me this added confusion to an already twisted plot line, not being able to second guess a story always adds a certain amount of trill. I found the colour changes fascinating, waiting for the scene to change, and looking out for what was different. The colour choice also did nothing but enhance the overall mood of the film, cleverly chosen to work with the action that was taking place in the different areas. The red dining room reflected not only the fear and anxiety of Georgina and the other guest, but the fear I felt in the audience, unsure what was going to unfold next. Green not a colour normally found around food, but here somehow seemed to work, creating a calm place where Georgina could breathe and relax, just be herself with the man she loved. Similarly Albert never had dominance in the kitchen, he could come in and destroy it, but the Cook Richard always had the final word over him. The kitchen was the quiet slice of sanity between Albert’s two haunting grounds. The sinister blue car park was where most of his really degrading work took place. The blue/black of this area made it really difficult to see what exactly was happening, unable to make out what you are witnessing and left to piece together what you perceive is taking place.

I liked how the set seemed more like a theatre set in one consecutive line with the continuous camera shots moving from one area to another. It created a real surreal atmosphere as the actors were able to move seamlessly from area to area, colour to colour without any unattractive edits or cuts. Although totally over the top this film also seemed totally believable, drawing you in from the very beginning to leave you stunned at the final climax.