O gângster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) janta todas as noites no restaurante Le Hollandais em companhia de seus capangas e sua esposa Georgina (Helen Mirren). Cansada dos modos violentos e grosseiros do marido, Georgina flerta com um solitário Michael (Alan Howard). Com a cumplicidade do chefe de cozinha Richard (Richard Bohronger), os dois amantes fazem sexo às escondidas no banheiro e na despensa do restaurante, enquanto Albert devora prato após prato em sua mesa. Quando Albert descobre a traição da esposa, desfecha uma cruel vingança contra Michael, que por sua vez será vingado por Georgina.
Having previously watched Greenaway's 'Prospero's Books', basically from the same era, one definitely gets a sense of the auteur, of great visualizing prowess in the Welsh native. I adore watching Helen Mirren from ANY era, but particularly here, in between the young adulthood beauty she displayed in Michael Powell's 'Age of Consent', through the remarkably absurd and audacious 'Caligula', straight to the sophisticated and very dangerous gorgeousness displayed in 'The Comfort of Strangers'.
It's great to see any dude who's mean to a beautiful woman get their comeuppance (particularly the wealthy--it offers a sort of 'wish fulfillment' for the 99% of us), and the climax here is one of cinema's most articulate presentation of that phenomenon. It definitely made me wish to see the rest of both Greenaway's movies and of Mirren's performances. Well worth the acquired taste necessary for this sort of delicacy.
