There, sitting in the center of Le Hollandais' dining room, at the biggest table, Albert holds court, spouting often-absurd discourses about any subject he can think of. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover is well-written, with dark humor and irony peppering nearly every conversation and monologue. Watching Gambon's tour de force is one of The Cook 's chief pleasures. Her performance is proof that a female lead doesn't have to be under 40 or classically beautiful to heat up the screen. Mirren's lovemaking scenes with Alan Howard are charged with eroticism, and her final confrontation with Gambon is tense and bitter.
Set design is top notch.
Le Hollandais is a surreal place, the kind of fantastic setting that Jeunet and Caro would bring to the screen years later in films like Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children . The Cook is always visually interesting, even on those rare occasions when other aspects of the production aren't as arresting. Then there's the ending, which contradicts the saying that revenge is a dish best served cold. In this case, it's warm, and very, very appropriate.