Drowning by Numbers (1988)

Three generations of women all share the same problem: cheating husbands, and they want to put an end to it.

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway

Stars:

Bernard Hill, Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Plowright	...	Cissie Colpitts 1
Juliet Stevenson	...	Cissie Colpitts 2
Joely Richardson	...	Cissie Colpitts 3
Bernard Hill	...	Madgett
Jason Edwards	...	Smut
Bryan Pringle	...	Jake
Trevor Cooper	...	Hardy
David Morrissey	...	Bellamy
John Rogan	...	Gregory
Paul Mooney	...	Teigan
Jane Gurnett	...	Nancy
Kenny Ireland	...	Jonah Bognor
Michael Percival	...	Moses Bognor
Joanna Dickens	...	Mrs. Hardy
Janine Duvitski	...	Marina Bellamy

Storyline

Tired of her husband's philandering ways, the mother of two daughters drowns her husband. With the reluctant help of the local coroner, the murder is covered up. Her daughters are having similar problems with relationships, and tend to follow their mother's example, and the coroner becomes reluctantly involved in their murders as well. As the plot progresses, visual and spoken numbers appear in the scenes, counting from one to 100.

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Plot Keywords:

nudity | pubic hair | male pubic hair | death by drowning | murder by drowning | 

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Taglines:

The great death game.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for numerous scenes of nudity and sensuality

Details

Country:

UK Netherlands

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conspiración de mujeres

Filming Locations:

Suffolk, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$424,773

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Four International, Elsevier-Vendex Film Beheer, Allarts Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinema film of Juliet Stevenson.

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Quotes

Smut: The object of this game is to dare to fall with a noose around your neck from a place sufficiently high enough off the ground, such that the fall will hang you. The object of the game is to punish those who have caused great unhappiness by their selfish actions. This is the best game of all, because the winner is also the loser, and the judge's decision is always final.

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Connections

Featured in The EE British Academy Film Awards (2014)

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Soundtracks

2nd Movement of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K354
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as Mozart)
Performed by Alexander Balanescu (violin) and Jonathan Carney (viola)

User Reviews

The men play one type of game, the women another

Life's a game, death's a game. This playful little movie is all about games. If you're not a gaming-type person, you might not find this, umm, diverting.

The thoroughly surreal and tongue-in-cheek tone of the movie keeps us from taking it very seriously...all of which is for the best, since that way we don't confuse the plot with serious drama; the games the women play tend toward the homicidal....

Wittgenstein famously pointed out that there are all manner of games in the world--there's no tight set of identifying characteristics; games all have, at most, a "family resemblance". Greenaway has here collected numerous far-flung relatives in this odd family. You'll no doubt appreciate some of them more than others, Well, we all inevitably have favorites.

DbN and Prospero's Books (two very different movies!) are my favorite Greenaway films.