Drowning by Numbers

Watch: Drowning by Numbers

9/10/19881h 59m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Three Women And A Coroner. ~

Overview:

Three generations of women who seek to murder their husbands share a solidarity for one another which brings about three copy-cat drownings.

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

drowning
dark comedy
coroner
suffolk, england

Cast

Joan Plowright

~ as ~

Cissie Colpitts 1

Juliet Stevenson

~ as ~

Cissie Colpitts 2

Joely Richardson

~ as ~

Cissie Colpitts 3

Bernard Hill

~ as ~

Madgett

Jason Edwards

~ as ~

Smut

Bryan Pringle

~ as ~

Jake

Trevor Cooper

~ as ~

Hardy

David Morrissey

~ as ~

Bellamy

John Rogan

~ as ~

Gregory

Paul Mooney

~ as ~

Teigan

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 2 year(s) ago
7
I actually found this to be one of Peter Greenaway's more accessible films. Though it's still riddled with some surreal imagery that made little, if any, sense to me, it is quite an effective and funny look at the institution of marriage. Now the Colpitts family can't really be accused of having much imagination when it comes to naming their offspring. "Cissie" (Joan Plowright) has "Cissie" (Juliet Stephenson) who has "Cissie (Joely Richardson) and none of these women make matches that they want to endure. There's plenty of philandering going on, so - well use the title as a clue as to just what happens now... This is a strongly characterised drama with three women very much at the top of their game, ably supported by Bernard Hill's rather eccentric "Madgett", that interweaves an intricate serious of - ok, not always the most plausible - sub-plots into a story that's ultimately a revenge comedy. It's a bit on the long side, and it does sag slightly when - I felt, anyway - there is less Plowright on the screen but the dialogue is quickly and pithily delivered, there is loads of rather natural nudity to lend authenticity to the earthiness of the topic and we are left with a powerful assassination of the marriage state and a clear illustration that there are more ways than one to skin a cat (and get away with it!). Michael Nyman has scored this jauntily and together with Sacha Vierny's eclectic style of cinematography, makes this film fun to watch with some deadly undercurrents.