The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

In Peter Greenaway’s NC-17 movie The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), the characters indulge in various types of excessive behavior. Every night, crime boss Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) holds court in Le Hollandais restaurant where he and his hangers-on (Ciarán Hinds, Tim Roth, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Ewan Stewart, and Gary Olsen) abuse each other, the staff, and anyone else who crosses their paths. Mind you, their idea of abuse goes far beyond anything you can conceive until you see the movie. The thief (Gambon) says and does whatever he wants. Since he owns Le Hollandais, he can order the chef (Richard Bohringer) be stripped so he can piss on him and smear him with dog shit. Meanwhile, Albert’s long-suffering wife Georgina (Helen Mirren) spots a chance for an escape from her martyr status when she notices a bookish intellectual (Alan Howard) who reads while he eats at an adjoining table. Not long after their eyes meet, they are wildly rutting in the ladies room, wordlessly. Their silence continues until they are introduced formally, after which they are allowed to talk to each other as part of the social ritual of the group. As such, they fall in love right under the Albert’s nose. Another part of Mr. Skin’s anatomy grows when Helen bares her three Bs 32 minutes into the flick! Throughout the pic, we are treated to various views of the leading lady’s breasts, bush and butt. In other words, that’s why there’s nothing like a Dame Mirren!