Drowning by Numbers
1988 · Movie · R · 119 min · ★ 7.0 · 82% critics
Three women from the same family form a tight bond as each decides to get rid of an unhappy marriage in the same chilling way. As suspicion grows in their small community, a local official becomes entangled in their secrets, while strange counting games and recurring numbers turn the story into a dark, offbeat puzzle.
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Details
- Years
- 1988
- Release date
- 1988-09-02
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 82/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (194 votes)
About
If you enjoy dark, surreal black comedies with puzzle-like patterns and a provocative take on marriage, this could click, especially if you liked The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover; Not for you if you want straightforward storytelling or sympathetic characters.
Pros: darkly funny tone; striking, unusual imagery; playful numbers-and-games motif | Cons: thin character development; uneven, sagging pace; can feel pretentious
Themes
- drowning
- dark comedy
- dysfunctional family
- avant-garde
- coroner
- suffolk, england
- independent film
- experimental film
- crime comedy
- widowhood
Cast & crew
Joan Plowright
as Cissie Colpitts
Juliet Stevenson
as Cissie Colpitts (Daughter)
Joely Richardson
as Cissie Colpitts (Granddaughter)
Bernard Hill
as Henry Madgett
- JE
Jason Edwards
as Smut
Bryan Pringle
as Jake
Trevor Cooper
as Hardy
David Morrissey
as Bellamy
John Rogan
as Gregory
- PM
Paul Mooney
as Teigan
Directed by Peter Greenaway