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Drowning by Numbers

R Released Apr 26, 1991 1h 59m Comedy List
88% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 88% Audience Score 2,500+ Ratings
Cissie Colpitts (Joan Plowright) drowns her cheating husband and in the ensuing cover-up enlists the help of lonely coroner Henry Madgett (Bernard Hill), an old friend with a longstanding weakness for her charms. But when Cissie's daughter (Juliet Stevenson) and granddaughter (Joely Richardson) both decide to resort to the same methods for solving conflicts with their own frustrating husbands, the Colpitts women and their repeated appeals for help begin to wear on Madgett's conscience. Read More Read Less
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Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Jake Cole Slant Magazine Peter Greenaway’s Drowning by Numbers is perhaps the most direct illustration of the filmmaker’s key thematic and aesthetic interest in ascribing structure to a chaotic universe. May 1, 2023 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Here is a movie so personal and quirky that perhaps you will enjoy it more than I did, and I do not want to spoil your fun, since the movie is playful above everything else. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) The most unbearable film by Peter Greenaway. [Full review in Spanish] Dec 12, 2022 Full Review Alain Masson Positif The fact that there are so many rules and that they can be degraded make a supreme form of regularity impossible at the same time as it becomes more essential, more urgent. Such formal matters permeate the whole film. May 4, 2022 Full Review Brian D. Johnson Maclean's Magazine Drowning by Numbers is a surreal, satirical descent to the dark side of English gamesmanship. It is a brilliant black comedy. Oct 11, 2019 Full Review Hilary Mantel The Spectator It never seems safe to recommend [director Peter] Greenaway; only to say that, take it or leave it, he is a genius. Apr 9, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (154) audience reviews
Piotr C One of my favorite films, ever. Cool! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/12/24 Full Review William L "In loving memory of an unemployed non-swimmer." I've never seen a movie that completely predates Wes Anderson that looks so much like a Wes Anderson film. The careful composition with an emphasis on central framing, the eccentric characters, the vibrant costume choices, the fanciful details (including a series of largely invented children's games often explained in comprehensive detail) and the offbeat storyline. Furthermore, Greenaway adds in an unusual device to establish structure, beyond a repetitive plot - hiding the numbers one to one hundred in consecutive order throughout the film, from casual conversation to odd, nearly third-wall-breaking prop choices. The director was doing something genuinely different than his contemporaries, and most importantly his design choices (while very original) don't come across as if they were added simply to give the film a hook for audiences to latch on to; if the indie films to come in subsequent decades were "not like the other girls", then Drowning By Numbers is a black comedy that isn't focused on image or pretension in the slightest. Anchored by a feminist message, Drowning by Numbers is really most memorable for its pure delightful quirkiness, both in script and visual design. There are pieces of pure surrealism that make little sense in the context of the story and are never really given much in the way of an explanation, but you just gradually grow to accept as a component of Greenaway's distinctive style. (4/5) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/19/21 Full Review Audience Member exceptionel movie..... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Wow. I've found each and every character gross. Movie with a solid story. But so far the one I've liked the least by Greenaway. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Another arty one. I had no clue what to expect, but not that! Visually very impressive, story very surreal, death everywhere! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review S R 1001 movies to see before you die. This one was tedious and odd. I also didn't find it very funny, just cynical. It had some unique filming, but other than that I don't plan to ever see it again. RUS. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Drowning by Numbers

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Cissie Colpitts (Joan Plowright) drowns her cheating husband and in the ensuing cover-up enlists the help of lonely coroner Henry Madgett (Bernard Hill), an old friend with a longstanding weakness for her charms. But when Cissie's daughter (Juliet Stevenson) and granddaughter (Joely Richardson) both decide to resort to the same methods for solving conflicts with their own frustrating husbands, the Colpitts women and their repeated appeals for help begin to wear on Madgett's conscience.
Director
Peter Greenaway
Producer
Kees Kasander, Denis Wigman
Screenwriter
Peter Greenaway
Production Co
Allarts Enterprises
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 26, 1991, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Apr 23, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$22.1K
Runtime
1h 59m
Sound Mix
Surround
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