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Bernard Hill, Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson, Joely Richardson, Jason Edwards ... see more see more... , Bryan Pringle , Trevor Cooper , David Morrissey , John Rogan , Paul Mooney , Jane Gurnett , Kenny Ireland , Michael Percival , Joanna Dickens , Janine Duvitski , Jose Berg , Vanni Corbellini , Roderic Leigh , Natalie Morse , Edward Tudor-Pole , Arthur Spreckley , Ian Talbot , Sharon Howard-Field , Michael Fitzgerald

Peter Greenaway wrote and directed this typically surreal and iconoclastic black comedy. Three generations of women who share the same name -- 63-year-old Cissie Colpitts (Joan Plowright), her daughte... read more read more...r Cissie Colpitts II (Juliet Stevenson), and granddaughter Cissie Colpitts III (Joely Richardson) -- have all discovered the same way of dealing with their marital problems. The senior Cissie has drowned her husband Jake (Bryan Pringle) in the bathtub, her daughter sent her spouse Hardy (Trevor Cooper) to a watery grave in the ocean, and the youngest Cissie sent her husband Bellamy (David Morrissey) down in a swimming pool. Needless to say, local coroner Henry Madgett (Barnard Hill) has some questions about this sudden rash of drownings among the Colpitts husbands, and again all three women respond in the same way: they promise to sleep with Henry in exchange for recording the deaths as accidental (though none of the Cissies make good on this promise). When the local gossip mill begins working overtime about this sudden rash of water-related deaths, Henry's teenage son Smut (Jason Edwards) comes to the aid of the Cissies and organizes a tug-of-war, with he and the Colpitts women on one side and the doubting townspeople on the other (and, of course, a river in the middle). Along the way, Greenaway often stops to contemplate his obsessions with literature, astronomy, and numbers. Drowning by Numbers was released in Europe in 1988, but didn't find its way to American screens until 1991, following the success of Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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90% liked it

3,835 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

11 critics

R, 2 hr. 1 min.

Directed by: Peter Greenaway

Release Date: September 10, 1988

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DVD Release Date: February 26, 1992

Stats: 180 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (180)

  • GabrielKnight
    March 25, 2012
    GabrielKnight
    A grotesque story wrapped in a sort of a number game. I did appreciate the visual style of the film, and the absurdity factor, but to be honest it left me scratching head in the end. It was apparent that the story is secondary to the number puzzle, but I'm just not tempted to see... read more this movie a couple more times to try to figure it out.
  • kenscheck
    September 21, 2011
    kenscheck
    I found this too be odd and entertaining. Dark comedy about three women who drown their husbands. Deranged ladies. Not for everyone, but I think it was pretty funny.
  • lhooqtius
    February 12, 2007
    lhooqtius
    This is the film that made me a hardcore Peter Greenaway fan, and I think it is just as good as "The Cook...." and The Pillow Book. Combining numerological whimsy with a plot about spousal relations and murder is brilliant enough, but then it's also typical Greenaway: brilliant ... read moreacting and directing, with an amazing visual sense.

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
October 16, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Its worth is drowned out by its obscurity and urge to make everything into an intellectual game. Full Review

Rich Cline
April 5, 2005
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

tricky and extremely clever

Rumsey Taylor
June 4, 2003
Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Though not the most visceral of Greenaway's films, it is a textbook art film, meticulously organized, and requisite viewing for obsessive-compulsives. Full Review

Ken Hanke
August 21, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Stylish, adult entertainment from Greenaway

David N. Butterworth
January 1, 2000
David N. Butterworth, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Quintessential Greenaway. Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Cole Smithey
October 4, 2005
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

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Drowning by Numbers Trivia

  • In Drowning by numbers by Peter Greeneway, the mother has the same name as her 2 daughters. What name?  Answer »
  • In Drowning by Numbers by Peter Greeneway the mother starts a crim, which the daughters copy. Which crime?  Answer »
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