The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Svensk Filmindustri (SF) | Release Date: April 6, 1990 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
7
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Not surprisingly, his ranting soon becomes repetitive and boring. Greenaway's dialogue cannot sustain our interest, and his lack of humor is the film's biggest drawback. For a lover of games, the director is never remotely playful. Read full review
60
Orlando SentinelJay Boyar
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is a serious film, but is it a great one? Not as far as I'm concerned. Overall, I'd say it's only pretty good, though parts of it are much better than that. [30 Apr 1990, p.D1]
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Despite the lofty tone of his literary, artistic and metaphysical allusions, Greenaway is working the same streets of human depravity as John Waters; he's just more pretentious about it. At best, Greenaway's film is a provocative and diabolically funny foray into the roots of passion and cruelty. At worst, the symbolic bric-a-brac gets so thick you lose sight of the characters. Read full review
50
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
For a Jacobean-style drama about deadly emotions, the film lacks passion; only in the final half-hour, with Michael Nyman's funereal music supplying a welcome gravity, does it at last exert a stately power. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
While his film certainly has the nastiness of satire, it doesn't have much political focus; petty malice rather than anger is the main bill of fare, with deep-dish notations about food and sex thrown in for spice. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneDave Kehr
Greenaway's regard is certainly unblinking, though it's hard to see where the seriousness and compassion come in. The thematic oppositions are primitive and are not fleshed out by the characters, who remain flat and puppetlike. [6 Apr 1990, p.G2]
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The Cook, The Thief is so full of loathing it just about gags on its own bile. Read full review
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