There’s something wrong with the Le Hollandais restaurant in London where most of the events of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. When the mobster makes the sudden decision to venture into restaurant acquisition, this high class French restaurant is turned upside down, with his hot-tempered, cruel behavior so over-the-top, unnecessary, and violent that his wife’s sexual affair actually feels rather tame, and yet silently rebellious. This story is quite straightforward for director Peter Greenaway, but in his hands, the melodrama becomes highly stylized, with separate rooms assigned colors, with the dishwasher singing classical opera, and with sharp observation of how much is lost when those with money can take over at the expense of the artisans, the scholars, and those more vulnerable in society.

When the lead performances do well, it’s no wonder we like their characters. Helen Mirren does great as Georgina Spica, but the standout performance is the antagonist, the titular Thief, Albert Spica, portrayed by Michael Gambon, who performed so outstandingly that Albert is so easy to hate.