Drowning by Numbers

1988 · directed by Peter Greenaway

Rating

78/100

Hit

no

Cissie Colpitts drowns her cheating husband and, in the ensuing cover-up, enlists the help of lonely coroner Henry Madgett, an old friend with a longstanding weakness for her charms. But when Cissie's daughter and granddaughter—both also named Cissie Colpitts—decide to resort to the same methods for solving conflicts with their own frustrating husbands, the women and their repeated appeals for help begin to wear on Madgett's conscience.

Drowning by Numbers (1988), directed by Peter Greenaway, rates 78/100. See how its director, cast and crew rate across their careers.

Cast

• Joan Plowright
• Juliet Stevenson
• Joely Richardson
• Bernard Hill
• Jason Edwards
• Bryan Pringle
• Trevor Cooper
• David Morrissey
• John Rogan
• Paul Mooney

Crew

• Sacha Vierny — Director of Photography
• John Wilson — Editor
• Michael Nyman — Original Music Composer
• Peter Greenaway — Writer

More from Peter Greenaway

1. The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) — 82/100 · hit
2. Lumière & Company (1995) — 80/100 · hit
3. The Belly of an Architect (1987) — 75/100
4. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) — 74/100
5. A Zed & Two Noughts (1985) — 74/100
6. Nightwatching (2007) — 68/100

How these numbers work: Methodology