There are odd affinities with the infamous The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover in Nicolas Roeg's grim and brutal portrayal of a psycho-sexual relationship whose last rites are played out against the background of the fall of the repressive Ceausescu government in Romania. Further parallels are drawn by the presence of Michael Gambon, sweating and swearing in the leading role, and by the story's unfolding druing the course of a ridiculously sumptuous dinner, to which Gambon has, in defiance of society crumbling around him, invited a dozen old cronies, of whom only three are brave (or foolish) enough to turn up. Further developments are both as arresting and unpleasant as you might expect; nothing ever quite works, though, as Roeg would like, save for a stunning climax which would grace a far more successful film.


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