MovieChat Forums > Drowning by Numbers Discussion > um.....questions - spoilers

um.....questions - spoilers

posted 14 years ago by noahs12dice
8 replies | jump to latest

What was the meeting of people under the water tower all about? Also at the end when Madgett's side loses the tug of war game - he say's he will explain everything. Smut lets go of the rope so his side lost right? Anyway you see the players all go together to the boat in the distance but in the final scene only Madgett and the 3 women are present. I think i got the gist of this film but obvously there is a bit more going on.

Not as good as The Draugtman's Contract or The Thief The Cook....but really likable characters - I might watch the DVD again soon

[–] subreality-864-770504 14 years ago

This should help:

1) Yeat's "A Vision" -- think in terms of two intersecting gyres, one Primary and the other The Antithetical, which spiral into each other, with world ages fluctuating back and forth between the two extremes

2) overlap this notion with astrological symbolism: the Age of Pisces (e.g., dead fish on bank) giving way to the Age of Aquarius (water, water towers, drowings)

3) now divide the film's symbolism between the two "Ages"
A. Primary/Piscan: male principle, heirarchy, rigidity, order, rules, beauracracy (taken to a point of absurdity)
B. Antithetical/Aquarian: female principle, breakdown of traditional order, fluidity, creativity, etc.

hope that helps! :)

[–] gorgsharpy 13 years ago

Or try this for Greenaway's apocalypse over mankind

Man - unfaithful, liar, selfish
Woman - sheepish idealist, murderer, mistrusting, manipulating, abandonning

"You couldn't be much further from the truth" - several

[–] RGS-3 14 years ago

Drowning by Numbers is (mostly) my favorite Greenaway movie. The water tower part I don't have a good answer for; my best guess is that it's the counterpart to terrestrial water, provides symmetry of a sort.

Yes, Madgett's side lost the tug of war. The Colpitts women had, however, made it clear earlier they intended to take Madgett with them for the burials at sea (it certainly wasn't an ash scattering...didn't look like those urns were about to sink to the bottom either--a little weak there). Regardless of the outcome of the game, the Colpitts were going to include Madgett in their "ceremony" and I think that, given their determination in general, hustling Madgett into the boat with them wasn't particularly difficult. The other folks--well, they wouldn't fit in the boat and presumably they didn't feel they had sufficient motivation to find a boat to join the burial at sea.

[–] noahs12dice 13 years ago

I have seen the film again since and yeah I can see they hustle him on to the boat. But then bizarely leave them to it and smut to hang himself. I have warmed to this film much more, I like the bit with the fish by the sea especially the music.

[–] heners 11 years ago

Yes, i love the fish part, do you know the song playing? I recognise it from another film...

[–] heners 10 years ago

I remember now, it's also in 'The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover'

[–] noahs12dice 10 years ago

Fish Beach used in (the cook etc, man on wire and this)

[–] PsychoDingo 12 years ago

The people meeting under the water tower all suspect that the deaths are murders, and that Madgett is falsifying his coroner's reports. they meet to discuss how they might bust Madgett, and social interactions ensue as well

She gave me a smile so sweet you could have poured it on your pancakes.