“A surreal, satirical descent to the dark side of English gamesmanship. It is a brilliant black comedy.” – Maclean’s

Before his international breakthrough The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, writer/director Peter Greenaway – “one of the most distinctive, provocative talents of his generation” (The Guardian) – shocked and delighted audiences with this slyly deranged black comedy classic. Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson, and Joely Richardson star as three generations of women who murder their husbands in an unsettling salvo of sumptuous visuals, macabre capers and numerical mischief. A film about mordant game-playing, DROWNING BY NUMBERS is a game itself, a kind of I Spy book in cinematic form, with numbers 1 through 100 embedded in sequential order within the film’s lavish imagery and baroque dialogue. Blackly comic and fiercely feminist, Greenaway’s “fascinating brain buster of very bad manners” (Entertainment Weekly), is a sumptuous feast for the senses lovingly restored in 4K by Severin Films.

A pre-show featuring some of Peter Greenaway’s most mind-bending shorts precedes the film at 6:30 pm.

This film is screening as part of Arkadin’s POOL PARTY series, featuring movies that allow you to beat the summer heat (vicariously) by taking a dip in the cool waters of a swimming pool, even as mystery, murder and heartbreak lurk on the horizon…

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.