Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

The Baby of Macon

Play trailer Poster for The Baby of Macon 1993 2h 2m Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
38% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A play about the birth of a miracle baby yields unexpectedly tragic results in this tale from Peter Greenaway.

Critics Reviews

View All (8) Critics Reviews
Derek Malcolm Guardian The ambition of The Baby Of Macon is betrayed by handling that consistently engages the curiosity without clarifying its true purpose. May 12, 2021 Full Review Stephen Amidon Financial Times Greenaway tells this story with his usual self-satisfied and gross pomposity, miring ornately stylised visuals with, truly unpleasant moments. Apr 21, 2021 Full Review Geoff Brown Times (UK) Watching The Baby is like being locked for eternity in a hideous religious painting. Apr 21, 2021 Full Review Philip French Observer (UK) Sumptuously costumed and designed, beautifully lit by Sacha Vierny, accompanied by enchanting baroque music, The Baby of Macon is the most determinedly disgusting film from a major director since Salo. May 12, 2021 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It's unpleasant to view, but is not without many rewards if you can be open-minded and sit through its anti-religious views of the nativity. Rated: A- Jan 12, 2011 Full Review TV Guide Rated: 4.5/5 Jul 30, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (65) audience reviews
Maciej B masterpiece by genial Peter Greenaway. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Even thou it's not, this film feels like a horror, and it's one of the best horrors I've seen. It's so beautifully shot that you feel like you're watching a moving painting. If you want to see where a genius like Ari Aster gets his inspiration, watch this and Greenaway's other films and you'll understand. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member You're only going to enjoy this movie if you really, passionately hate Catholicism. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member It feels like Ken Russell with a budget and no humor. Peter Greenaway's vision has a strong point -- but it is presented in the most graphic and unsetting ways possible. This is strictly cult film fare. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member I'm gonna be a horrible moralising prude and judge the whole movie based on one scene. You know the one. It's cheap, exploitative, and in extremely poor taste, no better than those shitty crime procedurals that take the shortcut to the outrage centre of your brain by showing a woman in extreme distress. Instead of getting an "oh how shocking" reaction, it just made me think less of Peter Greenaway. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member In many ways, brilliant. It shrewdly skewers the empty rituals and naked greed of the established church, and exposes the ease with which desperate people can be manipulated in return for blessings. Ultimately, the power struggle between Ormond's character and the church leaves both stripped of their moral foundation. The harm done to her is cruelly obvious, but it also cuts out the heart of the church's humanity. Like many Greenaway films, the phrase "profoundly weird" and "sumptuous" come to mind. It is sometimes hard to watch, but ultimately it rewards the patient viewer. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Baby of Macon

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All Cast and Crew

Peter Greenaway

Director

Julia Ormond

The Daughter

Ralph Fiennes

The Bishop's Son

Philip Stone

The Bishop

Jonathan Lacey

Cosimo Medici

Don Henderson

The Father Confessor

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
Wild Flower 57% 55% Wild Flower Watchlist Germinal 75% 76% Germinal Watchlist 1492: Conquest of Paradise 30% 50% 1492: Conquest of Paradise Watchlist Mountains of the Moon 67% 77% Mountains of the Moon Watchlist Gloomy Sunday 84% 92% Gloomy Sunday Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All The Baby of Macon photos

The Baby of Macon

The Baby of Macon (1993) The Baby of Macon (1993) The Baby of Macon (1993) The Baby of Macon (1993) The Baby of Macon (1993) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A play about the birth of a miracle baby yields unexpectedly tragic results in this tale from Peter Greenaway.
Director
Peter Greenaway
Producer
Kees Kasander
Screenwriter
Peter Greenaway
Production Co
Allarts, La Sept, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 11, 2016
Runtime
2h 2m
Sound Mix
Surround