The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (pg. 9)

            We start with our new source not with a food, but with a video. Ms. Sheraton alluringly describes the British film, featuring Dame Helen Mirren, as a feast for the eyes. A wealthy criminal and his wife regularly dine at a fancy restaurant where the preparation and service of haute cuisine is elaborately portrayed. During the meals, the wife frequently slips away to conduct an affair with another regular customer in the bathroom and kitchen. At some point, there is murder and cannibalism involved. Based on the description, I was expecting over-the-top comedy with lots of food porn.

            As it turned out, it was over-the-top drama with borderline actual porn. It had a dark, film noir kind of feel, and I kept waiting in vain for the plot to develop. Food displays were peripheral, rather than central, and there were a lot of things that didn’t make sense. Why is a restaurant in London, where rents and property values are very high, using its kitchen space so inefficiently? Where were the health inspectors? And why didn’t the thief, who seemed to run a successful organized crime operation, figure out his wife was having an affair until someone else told him? They weren’t being exactly subtle. Maybe the film was supposed to be a sort of sophisticated modern art, but I didn’t get it or care for it.