Drowning by Numbers

Synopsis: 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.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Peter Greenaway
Production: Live Home Video
  3 wins & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
7.3
Rotten Tomatoes:
91%
R
Year:
1988
118 min
1,013 Views


One Antares

Two Capella

Three Canopus

Four Arcturus

Five Agreetor

Six Anektor

Seven Duendin

Eight Algerib

Nine Agena

Ten Lalandry

Eleven Vega

Twelve Golubin

Thirteen Spirro

Fourteen Capra

Fifteen Acrab

Sixteen Deneb

Seventeen Sapho

Eighteen Castor

Nineteen Pollux

Twenty Storcha

Twenty-one Algano

Twenty-two Spira

Twenty-three Salcis

Twenty-four Hoytan

Twenty-five Luper

Twenty-six MacKay

Twenty-seven Regulus

Twenty-eight Eiridani

Twenty-nine Tenna

Thirty Riga

Thirty-one Cursa

Thirty-two Thuba

Thirty-three Mett

Thirty-four Mack

Thirty-five Mez

Thirty-six Lap

Thirty-seven Zed

Thirty-eight Diss

Thirty-nine Bolse

Forty Daron

Forty-one Jeannus

Forty-two Touros

Forty-three Plin

Forty-four Paul

Forty-five Broma

Forty-six Branca

Forty-seven Bellatrix

Forty-eight Mirach

Forty-nine Almach

Fifty Caff

Fifty-one Corboda

Fifty-two Ceti

Fifty-three Cruzer

Fifty-four Spira

Fifty-five Schredder

Fifty-six Abiera

Fifty-seven Dipda

Fifty-eight Kracklite

Fifty-nine Salcis

Sixty Okkra

Sixty-one Bolstar

Sixty-two Beastal

Sixty-three Procis

Sixty-four Salamon

Sixty-five Groombridge

Sixty-six Betelguese

Sixty-seven Stobart

Sixty-eight Gobin

Sixty-nine Adnam

Seventy Boston

Seventy-one Scheet

Seventy-two Nath

Seventy-three Stratt

Seventy-four Kriss

Seventy-five Bosch

Seventy-six Louis

Seventy-seven Borick

Seventy-eight Crupel

Seventy-nine Indi

Eighty Smeltzer

Eighty-one Crucis

Eighty-two Banka

Eighty-three Altair

Eighty-four Nollar

Eighty-five Schrader

Eighty-six Fabriticus

Eighty-seven Lucius

Eighty-eight Kuellar

Eighty-nine Kitaj

Ninety Bethal

Ninety-one Britius

Ninety-two Colcis

Ninety-three Centaur

Ninety-four Sopul

Ninety-five Jonah

Ninety-six Vierny

Ninety-seven Ritback

Ninety-eight Rostra

Ninety-nine Procyon

and a hundred Elektra

What are you

doing up so late?

I'm counting

the stars.

Do you really know

all their names?

Yes I do.

How many did

you count ?

A hundred.

There are more

than a hundred.

I know.

Why did

you stop?

A hundred

is enough.

Once you've counted to a hundred,

all the other hundreds are the same.

Take your

clothes off girl.

My name's Nellie and there's not

room in that bath for two of us.

Who says two's

going in it?

I'm surprised you haven't

got a proper bath.

I like a

tin bath.

Take that light

further off.

What are you

frightened of?

Ashamed I might see your underwear?

Or aren't you wearing any?

I'm cold standing here!

I want a bath too!

There's one outside

under the apple tree.

Moonlight, Good

for the complexion

Oh Cissy!

We've been using

your soap.

Hey it's her birthday today,

and I took her out to celebrate.

Why don't you wish her

happy birthday Cissy.

She's as naked

as a new

born babe.

Nothing wrong with

that is there Cissy?

You're not supposed

to be here.

You're supposed to

be playing cards,

backgammon, newmarket and whist,

then 2 in a row ,

along with your friend...

Madgett...

Hey get a towel Cissy

she's drunk too much

If you play the

cards right Cissy

well you can get your clothes

off and come in here too.

I've had a wash

She gave me

one. Nancy...

One...

I've had a wash

already Cissy

Nancy gave

it to me

Nancy gave it to me,

lets play a game...

Three...

Smut

Get up and

answer the phone!

In the game of

dawn card castles,

52 playing cards

are stacked up into a

castle in a draft free space.

The player can determine

the dreams of the next night

if he awakes before

the castle collapses.

Those players who

wish to dream of romance

build their castles

with the 7 of hearts.

He's put a lot of

weight on recently.

You'll wake him and

he'll want to eat.

The only time he stops

eating is when he's asleep.

Is it warm

enough for this?

I phoned Madgett,

he didn't answer.

What did you want

to do that for?

I've just

drowned Jake.

Do all fat men

have little penises?

I don't know mother, I've not

known...what do you mean?

When you first met Hardy

did he have a moustache?

What do you mean you

just drowned Jake ?

I don't like

the beard.

No neither do I, I'm trying to

persuade him to shave it off.

What do you mean

you've just drowned Jake ?

Yes, I need your

help to move her.

- Move who?

- Nancy

Nancy who?

Nancy Gill, she

calls herself Nel.

What has she got to do with it?

Have you drowned her too?

He doesn't smell

very fresh, does he?

He looks pregnant,

I like these creases.

We better phone

Madgett again.

Perhaps he

can help us.

"Us", mother ?

The game "flights of Fancy"

or "Reverse Strip Jump"

is played

from as high a jumping point

as a competitor will dare.

After each

successful jump,

the competitor is

allowed to put on

an article

of clothing.

Damn!

What are we going to say

if we meet someone?

It depends

who it is.

"Morning, just taking Nancy home,

she popped round for a bath."

She could lose

some weight.

Everyone seems to

be getting fatter.

Jake must've thought things

were getting better all the time.

I was only 25 when

your father died.

And plump enough.

Look at

her thumbs.

Seamstresses thumbs,

well turned.

Was Jake interested

in thumbs?

Eh not especially

as I remember.

Mother are you

going to sneeze?

No, I can smell

something.

It's Smut.

Oh Madgett must keep him from

using that paint. It makes such a mess.

What's the smell?

It's gunpowder, Smut's been

celebrating our corpse.

Ah! It's

still wet.

Sheep are

especially sensitive

to the exact moment

of the turn of the tide.

In this game,

nine tethered sheep, react

pull on the stakes

jog the chairs and

rattle the tea cups.

Madgett, where the hell do

you keep all these sheep?

Don't you

like sheep?

Shoo them away if

you don't like them.

Bets are taken on

the combined sensitivity

of any line

of 3 sheep,

read vertically,

horizontally or diagonally.

Since there are normally

it is normal practise to

take the best of 3 results.

Reliable clocks, calendars

and timetables

are used to determine the

accuracy of the sheep's forecast.

Did you

remember?

Yes. Now they are

slightly damaged,

be careful.

Why didn't you answer

the phone earlier Smut?

I never answer the phone

until the cock crows 3 times.

It's nice to see

you both so early.

How's Hardy?

He's alright.

What are

they doing?

They're playing

"Sheep and Tides".

Sheep are much maligned

don't you think?

Smut and I are testing

their intelligence.

It's an Old Testament game.

No it's not.

Isn't it?

Have some heart...

How's Jake?

No thank you...

and Jake's alright.

Mother, that's

not true.

What are you

doing Smut?

I'm counting the

hairs on the dog.

- What ever for?

- To see how many there are.

Madgett, I think you

ought to come and see Jake.

Smut

Go and give Gregory

and Teigan some tea.

What about

the sheep?

They need to be

thirsty to be useful.

Why do I have to

come and see Jake?

Is he dead?

Good lord, how

did you know?

I didn't.

I feel ill.

It's those

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Peter Greenaway

Peter Greenaway, CBE (born 5 April 1942 in Newport, Wales) is a British film director, screenwriter, and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his film are the scenic composition and illumination and the contrasts of costume and nudity, nature and architecture, furniture and people, sexual pleasure and painful death. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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