Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Belly of an Architect

Play trailer Poster for The Belly of an Architect R 1987 1h 58m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
85% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Stourley Kracklite (Brian Dennehy), a driven, detail-obsessed architect, travels from America to Rome with his much younger wife, Louisa (Chloe Webb), to oversee an architectural homage to a personal hero, 18th-century master builder Etienne-Louis Boullée. En route by train, Stourley and Louisa conceive a much-wanted child -- but Stourley's obsession with his wife's expanding belly, her perceived infidelity, and his own recurrent bouts of abdominal pain reach epic and dangerous proportions.

Critics Reviews

View More
Tom Meek Cambridge Day 04/20/2020
3/4
[Brian] Dennehy is outstanding as a man out of his element, and the cinematic rendering of Rome's classic structures is a visual feast. Go to Full Review Ángel Luis Inurria El Pais (Spain) 04/03/2020
Presumptuous, cold, and distant. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 11/30/2007
4/5
Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 04/09/2007
B+
Dennehy achieves Brando-esque emotional power. Go to Full Review Randy Shulman Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) 06/30/2005
3/5
Nick Davis Nick's Flick Picks 08/28/2004
B
There's a good deal here to relish, even if the piece as a whole eventually descends into the same hermetic serialism of motifs that has consumed most of Greenaway's pictures. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Grant C Feb 6 Visual delight. A great film about ambition and what it means to sacrifice your life for your art. Absolute must watch simply for the way it's filmed, the shots of Rome, and for Dennehy's outstanding performance. See more Donald D 11/06/2024 Just let this film envelop you it is a wonder of cinema. It’s a watch. See more 01/18/2022 Absolute masterpiece from Peter Greenaway. A visual feast of style, music and visuals. Not to mention the plot which is very unique and original. The performance of Brian Dennehy is spot on perfect and brings a heightens up the sense of tragedy that permeates the film. Its Peter Greenaway at its best! See more 01/17/2017 One of the greatest, the most beautiful and underrated films of all time. See more 11/14/2016 The thing about this is that, despite good performances, as far as I can see, it's a lot of nothing. Sure, it's more of a character study than linear story, but, even taking this into consideration, it still doesn't deliver anything that I think is really worth watching. There are some good ideas here, but that's all they are - ideas that never come to fruition. See more 06/21/2015 I'd recommend this movie to the architects... See more Read all reviews
The Belly of an Architect

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Peter Greenaway

Director

Brian Dennehy

Stourley Kracklite

Chloe Webb

Louisa Kracklite

Lambert Wilson

Caspasian Speckler

Sergio Fantoni

Io Speckler

Stephania Cassini

Flavia Speckler

More Like This

View All
Something for Everyone 83% 72% Something for Everyone Watchlist The Grand Budapest Hotel 92% 87% The Grand Budapest Hotel Watchlist TRAILER for The Grand Budapest Hotel 20th Century Women 88% 74% 20th Century Women Watchlist TRAILER for 20th Century Women Demolition 53% 55% Demolition Watchlist TRAILER for Demolition Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 91% 78% Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Watchlist TRAILER for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

The Belly of an Architect

The Belly of an Architect (1987) The Belly of an Architect (1987) The Belly of an Architect (1987) The Belly of an Architect (1987) The Belly of an Architect (1987) The Belly of an Architect (1987) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Stourley Kracklite (Brian Dennehy), a driven, detail-obsessed architect, travels from America to Rome with his much younger wife, Louisa (Chloe Webb), to oversee an architectural homage to a personal hero, 18th-century master builder Etienne-Louis Boullée. En route by train, Stourley and Louisa conceive a much-wanted child -- but Stourley's obsession with his wife's expanding belly, her perceived infidelity, and his own recurrent bouts of abdominal pain reach epic and dangerous proportions.
Director
Peter Greenaway
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 23, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.3K
Runtime
1h 58m
Sound Mix
Surround