THE BELLY OF AN ARCHITECT
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1988 Jeff Meyer
See at the Seattle Film Festival: THE BELLY OF AN ARCHITECT (Great Britain, 1987) Director/Screenwriter: Peter Greenaway Cast: Brian Dennehy, Chloe Webb, Lambert Wilson, Vanni Corbellini
I made a special point of going to see THE BELLY OF AN ARCHITECT since I had heard that, due to legal hassles, it may never see the light of day. I wish I could tell you that its absence from distribution would be a shame; unfortunately, I was totally at sea during the entire picture. The plot itself is interesting: a noted Chicago architect, Stourley Kracklite (Dennehy) and his much younger wife (Webb) travel to Rome so that Kracklite can fulfill a dream: design a tribute to the 18th century architect Etienne Louis Boullee. Kracklite is obsessed with Boullee, and his health begins to fail under the strain of getting the tribute prepared in time for the opening. Several of his sponsors are trying to turn it into a more commercial affair than Kracklite would like, and one (Wilson) begins to seduce Kracklite's wife. This drives Kracklite further into his obsession; he begins to write letters to Boullee, describing his problems; his gastric problems, which mimic Boullee's, become serious, and he wonders if his wife is poisoning him (like Alexander's wife did -- a famous statue of Alexander was done by Boullee). He also has an annoying habit of punching people in the nose (though almost every Italian in this film is portrayed as being an asshole -- it is not a promotional picture for visiting Rome in that sense).
I won't get into the conclusion, but you basically have the plot right there, and there are few surprises. No one is really very sympathetic in the film; Kracklite's wife and Kracklite basically work at destroying the other, and while you feel sorry for Kracklite as he breaks down, it's not the type of artistic obsession you can empathize with. Wilson and his *very* strange sister and weasel-like flunky would be a pleasure to throw off a bridge. The photography is fairly staid, and things move at a snail's pace. About the only good thing I can say about it is that the shots of the Roman architecture are spectacular; but I am sure there are several PBS documentaries on Italian Architecture which could provide just as much scenic pleasure while sparing us the angst.
Not recommended.
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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